While NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang expressed surprise over OpenAI’s multi-billion-dollar deal with rival AMD—shortly after his company agreed to invest up to $100 billion in the AI model developer—Sam Altman hinted that more such arrangements are on the way.
Huang appeared on CNBC's Squawk Box on Wednesday and was asked whether he had prior knowledge of the AMD deal before its announcement. He replied, “Not really.”
As previously reported, the OpenAI-AMD partnership is unconventional. AMD has agreed to grant OpenAI a significant stock stake, potentially up to 10% of the company over several years depending on stock performance. In exchange, OpenAI will use and assist in developing the chipmaker’s next-generation AI GPU hardware, making OpenAI a shareholder in AMD.
In contrast, NVIDIA’s deal flips the arrangement. NVIDIA is investing in the AI model startup, making it a shareholder in OpenAI.
While OpenAI has long accessed NVIDIA hardware through cloud providers like Microsoft Azure, Oracle OCI, and CoreWeave, Huang noted, “This is the first time we are selling directly to them.” He added that NVIDIA will continue supplying hardware to cloud infrastructure providers.
These direct sales include AI infrastructure beyond GPUs—like systems and networking—aimed at preparing OpenAI to become its own “self-hosted hyperscaler,” Huang explained, referring to the day the company operates its own data centers.
However, Huang acknowledged that OpenAI currently lacks the funds to cover all this infrastructure. He estimated that each gigawatt of AI data centers would cost OpenAI “between $50 and $60 billion,” covering everything from land and power to servers and equipment.
To date, by 2025, OpenAI has committed to 10 gigawatts of U.S. facilities through its $500 billion Stargate deal with partners Oracle and SoftBank. (Additionally, it signed a $300 billion cloud agreement with Oracle.)
Its collaboration with NVIDIA involves at least 10 gigawatts of AI data centers, and the AMD deal covers 6 gigawatts. Furthermore, its “Stargate UK” partnership includes expanding data centers in the U.K., along with other European commitments. It’s estimated that OpenAI has already inked $1 trillion worth of such deals this year alone.
Similar to the AMD deal, NVIDIA’s arrangement has also drawn criticism for what some call a “circular” financial structure. Critics argue that NVIDIA is essentially underwriting OpenAI’s purchases, effectively funding the AI startup’s growth in exchange for stock.
As Huang was analyzing OpenAI’s infrastructure needs on CNBC, an a16z podcast featuring OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was taken offline.
In the podcast, a16z co-founder Ben Horowitz told Altman that he was “impressed by the improved deal structure,” referring to these recent partnerships. Since Andreessen Horowitz is an investor in OpenAI, it would be surprising if he hadn’t been. OpenAI has found a way to secure billions in infrastructure with minimal upfront cost—repeatedly.
When asked about these recent deals, Altman said, “You should expect more from us in the coming months.”
Altman believes that OpenAI’s future models and upcoming product features will be even more powerful, driving increased demand. “That’s why we decided it was time to make a very aggressive infrastructure bet,” he explained.
The issue, however, is that OpenAI’s current revenue is nowhere near the $1 trillion mark—although it’s growing rapidly, reportedly reaching $4.5 billion in the first half of 2025.
Still, Altman remains confident that all these investments will eventually pay off. “I’ve never been more confident about the research roadmap ahead of us and the economic value these [future] models will unlock,” he said.
Yet, he admitted that OpenAI alone cannot realize all this economic potential.
“To make bets at this scale, we need support from a large part of the industry, or even the entire industry. This includes everything from the electronics level to model distribution and everything in between. It’s a lot. So, we’ll be working with many partners,” Altman said, forecasting more deals in the coming months.
