U.S. technology giant Nvidia has announced plans to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, marking a significant development in the artificial intelligence landscape.
Nvidia will provide high-performance chips crucial for the processing demands of AI, an area in which OpenAI specializes.
Described by Nvidia as a “strategic partnership,” this move underscores the ongoing competition in the global AI arena, where China is increasingly becoming a key player.
This announcement follows a series of substantial investments by Nvidia, including a $5 billion stake in Intel and a £2 billion commitment to the UK’s AI sector.
Nvidia, currently the world’s most valuable company, stated that its latest investment will support data centers for OpenAI’s “next-generation AI infrastructure.”
Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, emphasized that this funding will signify “the next leap forward and power the next era of intelligence.”
Both companies highlighted their existing collaboration with a broad network focused on building the “world’s most advanced AI infrastructure,” including partnerships with Microsoft, Oracle, SoftBank, and Stargate.
However, the dominance of U.S. AI firms is facing increasing competition from China, particularly with the emergence of DeepSeek-R1.
Meanwhile, Nvidia has encountered regulatory pressures from both Chinese and U.S. authorities.
China stated last week that Nvidia had violated its anti-monopoly laws, though specific details of the alleged breaches were not disclosed.
Additionally, China reportedly instructed its leading technology companies to suspend purchases of Nvidia’s AI chips. Huang told the BBC at the time he was “disappointed” with the news.
This followed an agreement between Nvidia and its rival AMD to remit 15% of Chinese revenues to the U.S. government to secure export licenses, reversing a U.S. ban on AI chip sales to China.
Nvidia’s share price closed up 4% at the end of Monday’s trading in the U.S.
OpenAI reported having over 700 million weekly active users, and stated that its new partnership with Nvidia would “advance its mission to build artificial general intelligence that benefits all of humanity.”
The company added that final details of the agreement are expected in the coming weeks.
Sam Altman, cofounder and CEO of OpenAI, commented that the partnership will enable both firms to “create new AI breakthroughs and empower people and businesses with them at scale.”
Greg Brockman, cofounder and president of OpenAI, noted that the company has been working closely with Nvidia since “the early days” of the business.
The two American chipmakers will partner to make personal computer and data centre chips, in a lifeline for Intel as it struggles to profit from the AI boom.
Jensen Huang said the US needs “to make sure that that people can access this technology from all over the world”.
The accusation comes as the US and China hold talks to de-escalate the trade war between the two.
The move blocks TSMC from shipping US-made tech to its facility in China.
Nvidia remains exposed to geopolitical tensions between the US and China.