Even after Stargate, Oracle, Nvidia, and AMD, OpenAI has more big deals coming soon, Sam Altman says

During a recent interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang expressed surprise over OpenAI’s multibillion-dollar deal with competitor AMD. This deal came shortly after Nvidia agreed to invest up to $100 billion into the AI model maker. Meanwhile, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, hinted that more such deals are in the pipeline.

The deal between OpenAI and AMD is unique in that AMD has agreed to grant OpenAI a significant amount of AMD stock, up to 10% of the company over a span of years, based on certain conditions like stock price increases. In return, OpenAI will utilize and help develop AMD’s next-generation AI GPUs chips, making OpenAI a shareholder in AMD. On the other hand, Nvidia has invested in OpenAI, making it a shareholder in the AI model-making startup.

While OpenAI has been utilizing Nvidia gear through cloud providers like Microsoft Azure, Oracle OCI, and CoreWeave, Huang mentioned that this is the first time they will be selling directly to OpenAI. This move is part of Nvidia’s strategy to provide AI gear beyond GPUs, including systems and networking, to prepare OpenAI for the transition to becoming its own self-hosted hyperscaler.

Despite the ambitious plans, Huang acknowledged that OpenAI currently lacks the funds to cover the cost of setting up its own data centers, estimating each gigawatt of AI data center to cost around $50 to $60 billion. OpenAI has already commissioned 10 gigawatts’ worth of U.S. facilities through its Stargate deal with partners Oracle and SoftBank, as well as securing cloud deals with Oracle.

In addition to the partnerships with Nvidia and AMD, OpenAI has inked deals for expanding data centers in the U.K. and other European commitments, totaling an estimated $1 trillion in deals for the year 2025. However, critics have raised concerns about the circular nature of Nvidia’s deal with OpenAI, suggesting that Nvidia may be underwriting OpenAI’s purchases to obtain stock in return.

Altman to the world: Expect more

As Huang discussed OpenAI’s infrastructure needs, CEO Sam Altman’s interview with Andreessen Horowitz’s a16z Podcast was released. Altman hinted at more upcoming deals and emphasized the potential of OpenAI’s future models and products to drive demand for infrastructure investments.

While OpenAI’s current revenue is far from a trillion dollars, Altman remains confident in the research roadmap and economic value that future models will bring. To support their aggressive infrastructure bet, Altman stressed the need for industry support and partnerships, hinting at more deals in the near future.

In conclusion, OpenAI is poised to make significant moves in the tech industry, with a focus on expanding infrastructure and partnerships to fuel its growth and innovation.