#OpenAI

OpenAI completed a $6.6 billion secondary share sale, valuing the company at $500 billion, a record for an AI firm. The sale, involving Thrive Capital, SoftBank, and others, allowed current and former employees to liquidate equity. While OpenAI authorized a larger sale, less than anticipated shares changed hands, seen as a sign of investor confidence. This follows a previous $1.5 billion deal and positions OpenAI as the most valuable private company, surpassing SpaceX. The sale aids employee retention amidst intense AI talent competition.

Samsung and SK Hynix shares surged following news of their partnership with OpenAI on the Stargate initiative. The collaboration aims to boost the supply of advanced memory chips crucial for next-generation AI, driving investor confidence. OpenAI emphasized the importance of these chips for powering its sophisticated AI models and is exploring AI data center development in South Korea. SK Hynix is mass-producing next-generation HBM chips, while Samsung is pursuing certification of its HBM4 chips by Nvidia, signaling a competition for leadership in the HBM market driven by AI demand.

Nvidia’s stock hit a new record high, exceeding $4.5 trillion in market capitalization, driven by its dominant role in AI. The stock is up 39% year-to-date, fueled by strategic deals and its essential AI infrastructure. Rumors suggest closer ties with OpenAI, including a potential equity stake and plans for massive Nvidia-powered data centers (“Stargate”) requiring a $500B investment. Citi analysts raised Nvidia’s price target, citing increased AI infrastructure spending. Meta and Google are also increasing AI investments, benefiting Nvidia, and highlighting the competitive AI landscape.

OpenAI, valued at $500 billion, is heavily investing in AI infrastructure, securing agreements worth billions with companies like Nvidia, Oracle, and CoreWeave. These expenditures drive innovation but raise concerns about sustainability. While OpenAI anticipates $13 billion in revenue this year, analysts caution about vendor financing similarities to the dot-com era and the immense revenue needed to justify the investments. CEO Sam Altman defends the spending, emphasizing the infrastructure needs for AI’s future, citing compute power demands that could necessitate $2 trillion in annual revenue.

OpenAI is aggressively scaling its AI infrastructure with massive investments and partnerships, aiming to become a hyperscaler. Nvidia is allocating $100 billion for data centers, while OpenAI expands its “Stargate” project with Oracle and SoftBank to $400 billion. This buildout, driven by accelerating AI demand, faces challenges including energy needs, uncertain financing, and grid constraints. However, executives emphasize the necessity for scaling, with enterprise adoption rapidly increasing. The ultimate success hinges on OpenAI’s ability to execute its ambitious vision.

Nvidia is significantly expanding its investment portfolio, fueled by the generative AI boom. Recent moves include a proposed $100B investment in OpenAI and commitments to Intel, Wayve, and Nscale. Nvidia leverages its AI chip dominance to secure equity and insights into promising startups. Its publicly traded holdings reached $4.33B, with nonmarketable equity securities at $3.8B. Investments span AI models, quantum computing, and more. While not requiring exclusivity, Nvidia’s backing enhances investor appeal, as seen in Intel’s stock surge after Nvidia’s investment announcement. The strategic investments reflect Nvidia’s growing influence in the AI landscape.

OpenAI and Databricks, valued at $500B and $100B respectively, are deepening their collaboration with a $100M multi-year commitment. This partnership aims to simplify enterprise access to OpenAI’s GPT-5, integrating it seamlessly with data stored in Databricks. This move allows Databricks customers to easily leverage advanced AI and gives OpenAI a stronger foothold within the enterprise data ecosystem, competing with rivals like Snowflake and Oracle in the rapidly evolving AI integration landscape. The partnership promises revenue growth and simplified AI adoption.

CoreWeave (CRWV) expanded its partnership with OpenAI, securing a $6.5 billion deal. This brings their total contracted revenue from OpenAI to $22.5 billion. CoreWeave provides specialized compute infrastructure for AI and machine learning, utilizing high-density Nvidia GPUs. CEO Michael Intrator emphasizes CoreWeave’s ability to power demanding AI workloads. The deal highlights the escalating demand for computational resources in AI and CoreWeave’s position as a key infrastructure provider, alongside players like Microsoft. This signals both growth for CoreWeave and increasing concentration of resources in the AI sector.

Nvidia’s substantial investment in OpenAI, potentially reaching $100 billion, focuses on AI supercomputing with the first deployment in late 2026. A key aspect is OpenAI’s strategy to lease Nvidia’s GPUs, optimizing capital expenditure and shifting financial burden. OpenAI aims to address compute scarcity, financed partly through Nvidia’s equity and Oracle’s balance sheets. Analysts highlight potential interdependencies and question the generation of tangible assets, while Altman emphasizes focusing on real demand and revenue from services.

OpenAI and Nvidia are reportedly discussing a potential $100 billion partnership, with Nvidia supplying at least 10 gigawatts of hardware and investing significantly in OpenAI. This collaboration aims to bolster OpenAI’s AI infrastructure for advanced model training, utilizing Nvidia’s Vera Rubin platform starting in 2026. The deal raises concerns about competition, potentially solidifying Nvidia and OpenAI’s dominance. OpenAI seeks to secure computational resources crucial for AI development, while also exploring custom chip solutions. The partnership is under scrutiny for potential circular funding and antitrust implications.