OpenAI announced on Friday that it is raising $110 billion in a landmark funding round, valuing the ChatGPT creator at approximately $840 billion. The deal highlights the extraordinary pace of global investment in artificial intelligence and ranks among the largest private capital raises in history.
The funding includes $30 billion from SoftBank, $30 billion from Nvidia, and $50 billion from Amazon. The round comes ahead of OpenAI’s anticipated mega-IPO later this year. The company also indicated that additional investors may join as the fundraising progresses.
Major technology firms and global investors are accelerating partnerships with OpenAI, which continues to invest heavily in data centers and advanced computing infrastructure. These strategic alliances reflect growing competition in the AI sector, where companies aim to secure a technological edge.
For OpenAI, the fresh capital will be used to acquire advanced AI chips and expand computing capacity. This investment is critical as competition intensifies from rivals such as Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini models. According to recent reports, OpenAI plans to spend approximately $600 billion on computing infrastructure by 2030, underscoring the scale of its long-term ambitions.
Amazon Partnership Expands AI Infrastructure
Alongside its $50 billion investment, Amazon has signed a strategic agreement with OpenAI. Under the deal, OpenAI will access 2 gigawatts of computing capacity powered by Amazon’s proprietary Trainium AI chips.
The companies are also expanding their existing cloud partnership. OpenAI plans to spend an additional $100 billion on Amazon Web Services (AWS) over the next eight years. The collaboration will include the development of customized AI models for Amazon’s engineering teams.
Amazon will initially invest $15 billion, followed by a further $35 billion once specific conditions are met. AWS will also become the exclusive third-party cloud provider for OpenAI Frontier, the company’s enterprise platform for building and deploying AI agents.
Importantly, the agreement does not alter OpenAI’s relationship with Microsoft. Microsoft Azure will remain the exclusive cloud provider for OpenAI’s APIs, while OpenAI’s core products will continue to operate on Azure infrastructure. Microsoft also retains exclusive licensing rights and intellectual property access across OpenAI models.
Nvidia Investment Highlights AI Industry Interdependence
Nvidia’s $30 billion investment strengthens its financial ties with OpenAI, one of its largest customers. The move reinforces the deep interconnection between leading AI hardware and software players.
However, such cross-investments have raised questions within the technology sector about so-called “circular financing,” where companies simultaneously invest in and supply one another. It remains unclear whether Nvidia’s latest commitment replaces or supplements a previously announced pledge to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI.
ChatGPT Growth Accelerates
OpenAI also revealed strong user growth metrics. ChatGPT now serves more than 900 million weekly active users and has surpassed 50 million consumer subscribers. The company expects January and February to mark record months for new subscriber additions.
Its AI-powered coding assistant, Codex, has also expanded rapidly. Weekly active users of Codex have more than tripled since the start of the year, reaching approximately 1.6 million users.
With record-breaking funding, expanding cloud partnerships, and accelerating user adoption, OpenAI is reinforcing its leadership position in the global AI race.
