The source said Amazon may commit around $10 billion to the investment, though negotiations remain fluid and no final agreement has been reached. The talks are private, and details could still change.
The potential investment underscores the AI sector’s escalating appetite for computing power as technology companies race to develop systems that rival or surpass human-level intelligence. OpenAI’s rapid growth has driven enormous demand for advanced chips and cloud infrastructure, fuelling multi-billion-dollar partnerships across the industry.
This year, companies including Nvidia and Oracle have struck AI-related deals worth several billion dollars with OpenAI. In November, OpenAI also agreed to a $38 billion deal to purchase cloud services from Amazon, highlighting the deepening ties between the two companies.
At the same time, investors are increasingly cautious, watching for signs that demand for AI services may be cooling or that the unprecedented levels of spending are not delivering expected returns.
The discussions with Amazon come as OpenAI lays the groundwork for a potential initial public offering that could value the company at as much as $1 trillion, Reuters reported in October. The talks also reflect OpenAI’s growing ability to form wide-ranging partnerships following its transition away from its original non-profit structure and the restructuring of its relationship with Microsoft.
Under its revised governance model, OpenAI operates as a public benefit corporation controlled by a non-profit entity that retains a stake in its financial performance. The structure has eased earlier constraints on fundraising and access to large-scale computing resources. Microsoft currently owns a 27% stake in OpenAI and holds exclusive rights to sell OpenAI models to its cloud customers.
OpenAI, Amazon and Microsoft did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
According to The Information, which first reported the talks, OpenAI plans to use Amazon’s Trainium chips, positioning them as alternatives to chips from Nvidia and Google. The report added that Amazon’s investment could anchor a broader fundraising round involving other investors.
OpenAI is also exploring the sale of an enterprise version of ChatGPT to Amazon. However, it remains unclear whether any agreement would include deeper integration of ChatGPT features, such as shopping tools Amazon is developing for its own applications.