Nvidia CEO signals investment in OpenAI round may be largest yet

Nvidia Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang said the company will be participating in OpenAI’s latest funding round, describing it as potentially “the largest investment we’ve ever made.”

“We will invest a great deal of money,” Huang told reporters while visiting Taipei on Saturday. “I believe in OpenAI. The work that they do is incredible. They’re one of the most consequential companies of our time.” Huang didn’t say exactly how much the company might contribute but described the investment as “huge.” 

“Let Sam announce how much he’s going to raise — it’s for him to decide,” Huang said, adding that Altman is in the process of closing the round. “But we will definitely participate in the next round of financing because it’s such a good investment.”

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that a plan that Nvidia had announced in September to invest as much as $100 billion in OpenAI overall had stalled after some inside the chip giant expressed doubts about the deal. Citing unidentified people familiar with the matter, the Journal reported that Huang had privately emphasized that the $100 billion agreement was nonbinding, had privately criticized what he has described as a lack of discipline in OpenAI’s business approach and expressed concern about competition.  

When asked by a reporter in Taipei about the report that seemed to suggest he wasn’t very happy with OpenAI, Jensen said, “That’s nonsense.” Huang said Nvidia’s contribution to OpenAI’s latest funding round wouldn’t approach $100 billion.

Nvidia’s massive investment commitment to OpenAI, a key buyer of its advanced AI chips, has stoked concerns about the circular nature of AI deals over the past year. Investors are increasingly questioning how these partnerships — in which tech companies are investing in AI businesses that purchase their products — may be artificially propping up demand. In a separate such deal, Nvidia recently announced plans to invest an additional $2 billion in CoreWeave Inc., a cloud computing provider that’s also a key customer. 

As part of a letter of intent signed in September, Nvidia said it planned to invest as much as $100 billion in OpenAI to support new data centers and other artificial intelligence infrastructure. The deal was designed to help OpenAI build data centers with a capacity of at least 10 gigawatts of power — equivalent to the peak electricity demand of New York City — equipped with Nvidia’s advanced chips to train and deploy AI models. 

OpenAI has been seeking to raise as much as $100 billion in its current funding round, according to a person familiar with knowledge of the matter, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private. Amazon was in talks to invest as much as $50 billion in the fundraise and expand an agreement that involves selling computer power to the AI startup, the person said on Thursday. 

Altman has also met with top investors in the Middle East to line up funding for the round, which may value the company at about $750 billion to $830 billion, people familiar with the matter said earlier in January, while asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public. Microsoft Corp. is in discussions to participate as well, the Information had previously reported.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com