Nvidia story Nvidia and OpenAI abandon unfinished $100-billion deal in favour of $30 billion investment

Chipmaker swaps last year's complex framework with AI start-up in favour of equity chequeAuthor of the article:You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.Nvidia Corp. is close to finalising a US$30 billion investment into OpenAI that will replace the long-term US$100 billion commitment agreed by the companies last year, as part of a massive new funding round for the AI start-up.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.The world’s most valuable company is in the final stages of negotiations with OpenAI, and its investment could be concluded as early as this weekend, according to people with knowledge of the matter.The US$30 billion equity investment forms part of a larger funding round that is on track to raise more than US$100 billion and will value the ChatGPT maker at US$730 billion, not including the new money, the people said.Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againInterested in more newsletters? Browse here.OpenAI will reinvest much of its new capital into Nvidia hardware, but the companies would not proceed with the US$100 billion multiyear investment partnership they announced in September, the people added.The retreat from the agreement announced to much fanfare in September comes amid investor jitters about the health of the AI sector that have helped drive U.S. tech stocks down 17 per cent since the start of the year.Last year’s deal, announced as a “letter of intent,” closely tied together the two companies at the heart of the AI boom — and helped to propel Nvidia above US$5 trillion in market value a few weeks later.It accelerated a frenzied period of dealmaking for Sam Altman‘s AI start-up, which forged complex deals with rival chipmakers AMD and Broadcom and cloud providers including Oracle.Although welcomed by stock market investors at the time, the spate of agreements tying together suppliers, customers and investors in the AI sector prompted concern among some analysts about their circular structure and a growing bubble in the space.Under the terms of the US$100 billion agreement, Nvidia would have invested ten increments of US$10 billion as OpenAI’s demand for computing power grew over several years, in return for a significant stake in the AI start-up.OpenAI in turn planned to buy millions of Nvidia’s AI processors as part of plans to deploy up to 10 gigawatts of new computing capacity.But the deal never progressed from a memorandum of understanding to a formal agreement. In January, The Wall Street Journal reported the deal was “on ice.” It has now been replaced by a more straightforward arrangement in which Nvidia will invest up to US$30 billion in return for OpenAI stock.That funding will support the build-out of gigawatts of new computing capacity and will probably be followed by further deals over time, according to people close to the companies.OpenAI and Nvidia declined to comment.Altman and Nvidia chief Jensen Huang have tried to dispel reports of cooling relations between their companies. “We love working with Nvidia and they make the best AI chips in the world. We hope to be a gigantic customer for a very long time,” Altman said on X earlier this month.We love working with NVIDIA and they make the best AI chips in the world. We hope to be a gigantic customer for a very long time.I don't get where all this insanity is coming from.The Nvidia boss the next day told CNBC that any suggestion of “controversy” was “nonsense.” “We love working with OpenAI,” he said.The San Francisco-based start-up is also in the final stages of negotiations with SoftBank, which will also invest US$30 billion, and Amazon.com Inc., which could invest up to US$50 billion as part of a broader partnership involving use of OpenAI models, according to people with knowledge of the deal.MGX, Abu Dhabi’s state-backed tech investment fund, and Microsoft Corp. are also expected to invest billions of dollars, while OpenAI executives are meeting with venture capitalists and other investors this week to drum up further interest, they added.In those meetings, OpenAI has told investors that they intend to spend about US$600 billion on computing resources, including from Nvidia, Amazon and Microsoft, between now and 2030, according to one of the people.The company has argued that access to computing resources will be the best defence against rivals, and it has made efforts to lock in as much infrastructure and supply of electrical power as possible to meet what executives anticipate will be limitless demand for AI tools.OpenAI revenues topped US$20 billion earlier this year on an annualised basis, a measure favoured by start-ups that projects recent revenue over the coming year. Its revenue growth has closely tracked increases in the company’s access to computing power, with each roughly trebling each year.© 2026 The Financial Times LtdPostmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.