Nvidia eyes ~$30B equity stake in OpenAI, pivoting from $100B infrastructure plan

Nvidia rethinks relationship with OpenAI as equity talks accelerate

Nvidia is in advanced talks to take a roughly $30 billion equity stake in OpenAI, signalling a pivot away from the sprawling $100 billion infrastructure framework the two companies announced last year, according to people briefed on the discussions and media reports. The proposed investment, first reported by CNBC and Financial Times, is described as separate from the earlier compute-deployment plan and is not tied to the staged deployment milestones that characterised the original arrangement.

Company executives are publicly reinforcing ties even as terms remain fluid. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is posting that the startup “loves working with Nvidia,” and Nvidia founder Jensen Huang tells CNBC there is “no question” Nvidia will participate in OpenAI’s next funding round. Sources caution the $30 billion figure is not final and could be restructured to include staged or conditional elements resembling the prior model, and both sides are still negotiating governance, valuation mechanics and any commercial access terms.

The apparent shift from a supplier contract to direct ownership exposure is significant for the AI ecosystem. For Nvidia, an equity stake aligns long-term incentives with OpenAI’s growth while potentially reducing capex and operational commitments tied to a $100 billion procurement programme. For OpenAI, a large strategic investor can provide capital flexibility without immediate operational dependencies on a single supplier, but the change raises questions about preferential access to specialised GPUs, competition among cloud providers and potential regulatory scrutiny of exclusive compute relationships.

OpenAI fundraising and compute outlook

The talks come as OpenAI finalises a much larger fundraising push that could top $100 billion and as the startup tells investors it now plans roughly $600 billion of compute spending through 2030, a more defined target than earlier public estimates. Reports say other strategic backers being courted include Microsoft, Amazon and SoftBank, and that the round might close in phases beginning with a strategic tranche.

Supply-chain concentration and export controls frame the backdrop

The deal also unfolds against persistent industry constraints: Taiwan remains the central hub for advanced semiconductor fabrication and export controls limit access to Nvidia’s most advanced GPUs for some Chinese firms. That concentration heightens the strategic value of direct vendor relationships and stakes in leading AI model builders, and it shapes how hyperscalers, chipmakers and governments plan capacity and regulatory responses.