Nvidia to Pour $100 Billion into OpenAI, Cementing a Major AI Alliance

Nvidia has announced plans to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI, while also supplying the company with its cutting-edge data center chips. The partnership marks a significant alliance between two of the most prominent players in the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence industry.

The investment gives OpenAI both the capital and access to high-performance hardware it needs to stay ahead in an increasingly competitive market. At the same time, Nvidia gains a financial stake in OpenAI—already one of its biggest customers—strengthening its dominance in the AI hardware sector.

According to a source close to the matter, the deal will unfold in two interconnected steps: Nvidia will first acquire non-voting shares in OpenAI, after which OpenAI will channel that funding into purchasing Nvidia systems.

“Everything starts with compute,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman emphasized in a statement. “Infrastructure is the foundation of the future economy, and what we’re building with Nvidia will enable new AI breakthroughs and empower businesses and individuals globally.”

As part of the agreement, the companies signed a letter of intent to deploy at least 10 gigawatts of Nvidia’s computing systems for OpenAI. This power capacity is equivalent to the energy consumption of more than 8 million U.S. homes. Deliveries will begin in late 2026, starting with one gigawatt of computing power on Nvidia’s upcoming Vera Rubin platform.

The announcement boosted investor confidence, with Nvidia shares climbing 4.4% to a record high and Oracle shares rising 6%, as Oracle partners with OpenAI, SoftBank, and Microsoft on Project Stargate—a $500 billion initiative to build massive AI data centers worldwide.

The initial stage of the deal involves Nvidia investing $10 billion once OpenAI finalizes the system purchases. OpenAI’s most recent valuation stood at $500 billion.

Industry analysts say the partnership will ease concerns about Nvidia losing ground to rivals or facing sales losses from U.S.-China trade tensions. “This deal reinforces Nvidia’s lead, and shows that competitors like AMD or in-house chips from tech giants still have a long way to go,” said eMarketer analyst Jacob Bourne.

While OpenAI continues exploring custom chips with Broadcom and TSMC, the deal does not derail those plans or its long-standing partnership with Microsoft.

Still, the sheer scale of Nvidia’s commitment could trigger antitrust scrutiny. The U.S. Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission have already signaled increased interest in monitoring Nvidia, OpenAI, and Microsoft’s roles in the AI ecosystem.

Antitrust attorney Andre Barlow noted: “This agreement could reshape economic incentives by tying Nvidia’s hardware monopoly more closely to OpenAI’s software dominance. That may raise concerns for competitors in both chips and AI models.”

For now, however, the partnership highlights the deepening ties among major tech players, accelerating the global race to dominate the future of artificial intelligence.