Amazon reportedly in talks to invest over $10 billion in OpenAI, the startup behind ChatGPT. If the deal goes through, OpenAI’s valuation could top $500 billion, according to The Information, the tech-news outlet that reported the negotiations. While Amazon is widely known as an online retailer, it also operates the world’s largest network of data centers. The potential investment would help OpenAI cover its commitments to rent capacity from cloud providers, including Amazon Web Services. OpenAI last month announced a plan to spend $38 billion on cloud capacity from AWS over seven years, with The Information suggesting OpenAI would utilize Amazon’s Trainium chips, vying with Nvidia and Google’s silicon offerings. The report also indicated that Amazon’s financing could pave the way for a broader fundraising round with additional investors. OpenAI has earmarked about $1.4 trillion in compute spend—chips and servers—over the next eight years, far surpassing its reported $13 billion annual revenue. To fund this, the company has been pursuing more funding and reorganized into a for-profit corporation, with Microsoft retaining a significant stake of roughly 27% in a deal that valued OpenAI at $500 billion. There’s also talk of an initial public offering that could push the valuation toward $1 trillion, per Reuters. Separately, Oracle is said to be investing $300 billion to build data centers across several U.S. states, with OpenAI expected to reimburse a portion of those costs. In another move, Nvidia will supply chips in exchange for cash, and OpenAI will issue non-controlling shares to Nvidia. OpenAI announced the recruitment of former UK Chancellor George Osborne to help cultivate government relationships and coordinate national AI initiatives. CEO Sam Altman has warned of a “code red” as the company braces for competition, notably from Google, whose Gemini update has given rivals an edge. Reports also indicate Amazon may explore commercial opportunities, including offering a corporate version of ChatGPT to Amazon as a business product. OpenAI declined to comment, and Amazon did not respond to requests for comment.
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