OpenAI and Amazon have signed a $38 billion deal that enables the ChatGPT maker to run its artificial intelligence systems on Amazon’s data centers in the U.S.
OpenAI will be able to power its AI tools using “hundreds of thousands” of Nvidia’s specialized AI chips through Amazon Web Services as part of the deal announced Monday.
Amazon shares increased 4% after the announcement.
The agreement comes less than a week after OpenAI altered its partnership with its longtime backer, Microsoft, which had been the startup’s exclusive cloud computing provider until early this year.
California and Delaware regulators also allowed San Francisco-based OpenAI, which was founded as a nonprofit, to move forward with its plan to form a new business structure that will more easily raise capital and generate a profit last week.
“The rapid advancement of AI technology has created unprecedented demand for computing power,” Amazon said in a statement on Monday. It said OpenAI “will immediately start utilizing AWS compute as part of this partnership, with all capacity targeted to be deployed before the end of 2026, and the ability to expand further into 2027 and beyond.”
AI requires vast amounts of energy and computing power, and OpenAI has long signaled that it needs more capacity, both to develop new AI systems and keep existing products like ChatGPT answering the questions of its hundreds of millions of users.
It has recently incurred more than $1 trillion worth of financial obligations for AI infrastructure spending, including data center projects with Oracle and SoftBank, as well as semiconductor supply deals with chipmakers Nvidia, AMD, and Broadcom.
Some of the deals have raised investor concerns about their “circular” nature, as OpenAI doesn’t generate a profit and can’t yet afford to pay for the infrastructure that its cloud backers are providing, on the expectation of future returns on their investments.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman dismissed doubters last week, he says, who have aired “breathless concern” about the deals.
“Revenue is growing steeply. We are taking a forward bet that it’s going to continue to grow,” Altman said on a podcast where he appeared with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
Amazon is already the primary cloud provider to AI startup Anthropic, an OpenAI rival that makes the Claude chatbot.
