Nvidia will invest as much as $100 billion in OpenAI as the artificial intelligence company embarks on building hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of data centers powered by Nvidia’s processors, the two firms announced on Monday. The deal underscores the scale of infrastructure needed to advance next-generation AI and cements Nvidia’s role as OpenAI’s preferred technology supplier.
As part of the plan, OpenAI will deploy Nvidia systems consuming 10 gigawatts of power—a capacity that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said equates to between four million and five million GPUs, or “twice as much as last year.” Speaking in San Jose alongside OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman, Huang emphasized, “This is a giant project.”
The partnership begins with an initial $10 billion investment once the first gigawatt of infrastructure is completed, according to a person familiar with the matter. Additional tranches will be deployed at prevailing valuations as more capacity comes online. Nvidia noted that the first phase is expected to launch in the second half of 2026 using its next-generation Vera Rubin systems.
The market responded strongly to the announcement—Nvidia’s stock jumped nearly 4%, adding close to $170 billion in market capitalization and pushing its valuation near $4.5 trillion. Analysts said the move demonstrates the deep interdependence between Nvidia and OpenAI, which helped spark demand for Nvidia’s GPUs following the release of ChatGPT in 2022. “Nvidia invests $100 billion in OpenAI, which then OpenAI turns back and gives it back to Nvidia,” said Bryn Talkington of Requisite Capital Management. “I feel like this is going to be very virtuous for Jensen.”
OpenAI, which recently reported 700 million active weekly users, has been rapidly scaling infrastructure to meet demand. Altman described the challenge ahead: “You should expect a lot from us in the coming months. There are three things that OpenAI has to do well: we have to do great AI research, we have to make these products people want to use, and we have to figure out how to do this unprecedented infrastructure challenge.”
The collaboration complements OpenAI’s existing partnerships with Microsoft, Oracle, SoftBank, and the Stargate project, while also highlighting Nvidia’s aggressive investment streak across the AI ecosystem. In recent weeks, Nvidia has taken a $5 billion stake in Intel, committed $700 million to U.K. startup Nscale, and spent over $900 million hiring talent and licensing technology from Enfabrica.
