Amazon is in early talks to invest up to $50 billion (£40 billion) in OpenAI, which would be one of the largest private technology investments ever.
Talks are reportedly still preliminary and the final scope and structure of a deal has yet to be agreed. If the investment closes at the high end, Amazon would become the largest single backer in OpenAI’s latest fundraising round.
The talks come as OpenAI looks to raise up to $100 billion, which would value the company at around $830 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The funding push underscores the extraordinary demand for exposure to pioneering AI companies that are investing billions in data centers, chips and computing infrastructure.
Big tech companies and global investors are scrambling to deepen their relationships with OpenAI, betting that closer partnerships with the ChatGPT maker will provide a strategic advantage in intensifying AI competition.
Japan’s SoftBank Group is also in talks to invest up to $30 billion in OpenAI as the company continues to lay the groundwork for a potential initial public offering that could eventually make it worth nearly $1 trillion.
The negotiations are led by Andy Jassy and Sam Altman (pictured) and highlight how central AI has become to Amazon’s long-term strategy, particularly through its cloud computing arm.
Amazon is already heavily involved in the AI sector. The company has invested about $8 billion in Anthropic, a fast-growing OpenAI competitor whose services have been well received by enterprise customers. Anthropic was recently valued at $183 billion and has forecast that its annual revenue could nearly triple to around $26 billion by 2026.
Meanwhile, OpenAI continues to expand its computing partnerships. This month, the company signed a $10 billion deal with Cerebras, an emerging competitor to Nvidia whose chips currently power much of OpenAI’s AI infrastructure.
Amazon’s potential investment is part of a broader funding competition. Microsoft, OpenAI’s long-time strategic partner, and Nvidia are also reportedly in talks to participate in the round. Nvidia is reportedly considering an investment of up to $30 billion, while Microsoft’s contribution is expected to be under $10 billion.
Amazon declined to comment on the reports and OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
If Amazon’s $50 billion commitment is finalized, it would mark a dramatic escalation in the battle between the world’s largest technology companies to secure influence over the future direction of artificial intelligence and its underlying infrastructure.
