Amazon in Early Talks to Invest Up to  B in OpenAI

Amazon in Early Talks to Invest Up to $10 B in OpenAI

Key Points

  • Amazon is in early talks to invest up to $10 billion in OpenAI.
  • The deal would see OpenAI using Amazon’s AI chips for model training.
  • Potential valuation for OpenAI could exceed $500 billion.
  • Amazon previously invested $8 billion in Anthropic.
  • Amazon recently launched the latest Trainium chip series.
  • OpenAI’s shift to a for‑profit model opens new partnership possibilities.
  • The arrangement fits a broader trend of circular deals linking AI firms with hardware and cloud providers.
  • OpenAI recently invested $350 million in CoreWeave and took a stake in AMD.
  • OpenAI and Amazon have a $38 billion cloud‑computing agreement in place.

Amazon reportedly in talks to invest $10B in OpenAI as circular deals stay popular

Background on the Proposed Investment

Amazon is in early discussions to commit up to $10 billion to OpenAI, according to multiple reports. The arrangement would involve OpenAI adopting Amazon’s AI chips for its model training and inference workloads, aligning the cloud provider’s hardware offerings with the AI lab’s compute needs.

Potential Valuation and Strategic Fit

Industry sources suggest that the deal could place OpenAI’s valuation above $500 billion, reflecting the rapid growth of the generative‑AI market. For Amazon, the investment would deepen its involvement in the AI ecosystem, complementing its existing $8 billion stake in Anthropic, a rival AI firm.

Amazon’s AI Hardware Push

Amazon recently unveiled the latest iteration of its Trainium chip series, designed to power large‑scale AI workloads on Amazon Web Services (AWS). By securing a partnership with OpenAI, Amazon aims to showcase the performance and cost advantages of its home‑grown silicon across a high‑profile AI application.

OpenAI’s Shift to a For‑Profit Model

OpenAI’s recent transition to a for‑profit structure gives it greater flexibility to strike deals with investors beyond Microsoft, which previously held a substantial equity stake. The new investment framework enables OpenAI to explore a broader range of capital partners while maintaining its mission‑driven focus.

Circular Deal Landscape

The proposed Amazon‑OpenAI partnership fits within a broader trend of “circular deals” in the AI industry. In such arrangements, hardware manufacturers and cloud providers supply chips and compute resources to AI startups, which in turn commit to using those same products for training their models. This creates a mutually reinforcing ecosystem that boosts revenue for both sides.

Recent Related Partnerships

OpenAI has been active in forming similar alliances. Earlier this year, it invested $350 million in CoreWeave, a cloud provider that purchases Nvidia GPUs—chips that also power OpenAI’s own workloads. OpenAI also took a 10 percent stake in AMD and entered a chip‑usage agreement with Broadcom. Additionally, the company signed a $38 billion cloud‑computing agreement with Amazon, further intertwining the two firms’ operations.

Responses and Outlook

Both Amazon and OpenAI have not immediately responded to comment requests. If finalized, the investment would represent a significant deepening of Amazon’s role in the AI sector and could accelerate the adoption of its Trainium chips across leading generative‑AI applications.

Source: techcrunch.com