one year on
Nvidia to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI data center buildout
The chipmaker will fund a 10-gigawatt AI infrastructure project, with the first phase using its Vera Rubin platform in the second half of 2026, with Jensen Huang calling it a monumental partnership.
Originally published Published on this site
Nvidia will invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI as the AI lab builds out at least 10 gigawatts of data center capacity using Nvidia systems, the companies announced Monday. The first gigawatt, targeted for the second half of 2026, will run on Nvidia’s next-generation Vera Rubin platform. The investment comes as a letter of intent, with funds deployed progressively as each gigawatt comes online.
In a CNBC interview, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the project involves 4 million to 5 million graphics processing units — roughly the number of GPUs Nvidia will ship this year. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman described the infrastructure as foundational to the future economy. The companies said they will co-optimize roadmaps for OpenAI’s models and Nvidia’s hardware.
The deal highlights the deepening interdependence between the two AI giants. Nvidia’s stock rose nearly 4% on Monday, adding roughly $170 billion in market value. The companies said the partnership complements the deep work OpenAI and NVIDIA are already doing with Microsoft, Oracle, SoftBank and Stargate partners. Nvidia’s investment comes after a roster of investors valued OpenAI at $500 billion in a recent secondary round.
Bryn Talkington, managing partner at Requisite Capital Management, told CNBC the arrangement would be ‘very virtuous for Jensen.’ The announcement follows Nvidia’s recent $5 billion stake in Intel and other strategic investments, underscoring the chipmaker’s aggressive push to secure demand for its AI hardware.
The record
Described the partnership as 'monumental in size' in a CNBC interview, noting the 10GW project equates to 4-5 million GPUs, about what Nvidia will ship this year.
Called compute infrastructure the basis for the future economy and said OpenAI will use the buildout to create new AI breakthroughs at scale.
Told CNBC: 'I feel like this is going to be very virtuous for Jensen.'
One year later — open only if you can handle spoilers
The letter of intent quickly became the emblem of Wall Street's "circular financing" worry — a chipmaker bankrolling the customer that would spend the money on its chips. Jensen Huang later played down the $100 billion figure, calling it never a firm commitment, and what materialized first was an Nvidia equity stake in OpenAI's next mega-round. By mid-2026 the two were reportedly discussing something larger still: Nvidia backstopping up to $250 billion in debt for an OpenAI data-center campus in Ohio, even as the first Vera Rubin systems began reaching OpenAI.
Filed
Compiled and edited by Adam Allcock.
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