Technology giant Nvidia has suspended the implementation of an ambitious deal with ChatGPT developer OpenAI. The plan is a large-scale financing initiative worth up to $100 billion, intended to provide the startup with the computing power needed to train the latest artificial intelligence models. The cooling of relations stemmed from internal doubts among the chipmaker’s management about the feasibility of such investments. This is reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Previous agreements reached in September last year provided for the creation of an infrastructure with a capacity of at least 10 gigawatts. Nvidia planned to invest up to $100 billion to help OpenAI pay for the rent of its own chips. At that time, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang called this project “the largest computing project in history,” which even led to an increase in his company’s market capitalization to almost $4.5 trillion.
However, the negotiations, which were supposed to be concluded in a few weeks, never got beyond the initial stage. According to sources, Huang began to emphasize in private conversations that the September memorandum was not legally binding.
The main reason for the change in position was Jensen Huang’s concern about OpenAI’s business approach. The Nvidia CEO criticized the startup for its “lack of discipline” and expressed concerns about increased competition from Google (with its Gemini) and Anthropic (with its Claude model).
However, Nvidia is not completely breaking off relations. The company plans to participate in a new financing round for OpenAI, which is being organized to raise capital from various partners (including Amazon and SoftBank).
The situation is complicated by the fact that OpenAI is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) by the end of 2026. The startup’s CEO, Sam Altman, has committed $1.4 trillion in computing power, 100 times the company’s expected revenue last year. This has investors nervous, especially given the success of its competitors.
It’s worth noting that Nvidia is diversifying its risks. In November, the company committed to investing up to $10 billion in OpenAI’s main competitor, startup Anthropic.