OpenAI is ramping up efforts to secure one of the largest private investments in artificial intelligence history, targeting up to $40 billion in funding from a combination of core infrastructure partners, sovereign wealth funds, and strategic investors.
The initiative comes as the company seeks to scale its data centers, expand global operations, and accelerate the deployment of increasingly sophisticated AI models.
Sources familiar with the discussions told The Information that Nvidia, Microsoft, and Amazon are expected to lead the initial phase of the funding round. Nvidia could contribute up to $20 billion, while Amazon is reportedly considering a $10 billion-plus commitment. Microsoft, which currently holds a 27 percent stake in OpenAI’s for-profit division, is likely to add several billion more.
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In parallel, SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son has expressed confidence in the company, with potential commitments of up to $30 billion, while discussions with sovereign wealth funds such as the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and MGX are ongoing.
The scale of these investments reflects the growing capital intensity of AI development. OpenAI relies heavily on Nvidia GPUs, cloud infrastructure from Microsoft Azure and AWS, and other high-performance computing resources to operate models at the frontier of AI research. Last year, Nvidia entered into a multiyear agreement to invest $100 billion in incremental $10 billion tranches to expand OpenAI’s data centers, although the deal remains unfocalized.
Analysts say the new proposed $20 billion injection may either supplement this prior agreement or lead to renegotiation of terms, highlighting the delicate balance between funding needs and operational independence.
OpenAI’s reliance on infrastructure providers for financing raises strategic and governance questions. Analysts note that when major investors are also critical suppliers, it concentrates influence and could shape pricing, technology priorities, and market access. It is believed that while these investments unlock rapid scaling, they also increase the risk of vendor dependence. Thus, OpenAI must navigate growth without ceding control over the platforms its models rely on.
The funding drive positions OpenAI to compete aggressively with a growing field of AI players. In the U.S., rivals such as Anthropic, Google DeepMind, and xAI are expanding model capabilities and commercialization efforts, while Chinese companies, including DeepSeek, Moonshot AI, and Alibaba-backed startups, are pursuing multi-modal models and omni-capable AI systems, intensifying global competition for talent, hardware, and market dominance.
Financially, OpenAI’s expansion is aimed at building additional data centers capable of supporting increasingly complex models. Industry sources say that Chinese competitors are investing heavily in local GPU alternatives and high-bandwidth memory to bypass U.S. export restrictions, while U.S. firms like Nvidia and Amazon benefit from these large-scale commitments, creating an intertwined ecosystem where capital, compute, and AI talent converge.
The massive funding round also underscores the central role of AI infrastructure in shaping the market. OpenAI’s models, including GPT and other generative AI offerings, require extraordinary computational resources, making the availability of advanced GPUs, storage, and cloud services as crucial as research talent. Analysts note that OpenAI’s strategy mirrors a broader trend in the AI industry that has seen companies with access to both deep capital and cutting-edge hardware, positioning to accelerate deployment and dominate key commercial applications.
But OpenAI’s aggressive fundraising comes amid intense scrutiny from regulators and investors. Observers caution that securing such large sums may bring pressure to commercialize quickly, potentially influencing product timelines and ethical oversight. Nevertheless, the company maintains that the investment is critical to expand its AI capabilities and bring large-scale automation and AI services into enterprise, government, and consumer markets.
However, the potential participation of Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, SoftBank, and sovereign wealth funds is believed to be a signal of confidence in OpenAI’s potential, but also highlights the challenge of scaling AI at the frontier.