OpenAI has announced a strategic alliance with Nvidia, designed to enhance its computational capabilities and secure substantial funding for future AI models focused on achieving superintelligence.
The partnership, disclosed on Monday, is set to enable OpenAI to establish and operate at least 10 gigawatts of AI data centers utilizing NVIDIA technology. This investment could translate to millions of GPUs, which are crucial for powering upcoming OpenAI models. A significant element of this agreement includes NVIDIA’s commitment to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI as each gigawatt is brought online, according to the official announcement. Specific details are expected to be finalized in the forthcoming weeks.
OpenAI has identified Nvidia as a “preferred strategic compute and networking partner” to aid in its growth initiatives for AI infrastructure.
“Everything starts with compute,” remarked OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in a statement. “The compute infrastructure will form the foundation of the future economy, and what we are developing in partnership with NVIDIA will facilitate new AI breakthroughs while empowering individuals and businesses on a larger scale.” Last week, OpenAI reported that ChatGPT has amassed 700 million active users weekly.
This announcement follows Microsoft’s earlier declaration in January that it would not remain OpenAI’s exclusive compute provider. Instead, Microsoft will now have a “right of first refusal” for new projects. Since then, OpenAI has begun establishing its own data centers and has secured a $300 billion cloud computing agreement with Oracle. Furthermore, both companies recently issued a statement confirming they have signed a “non-binding memorandum of understanding” and are working towards finalizing a formal agreement.
Microsoft has invested over $13 billion into OpenAI, but the nature of their partnership is evolving as OpenAI expands. Reports indicate there have been disputes over the “AGI clause” in their contract, which could potentially limit Microsoft’s share of profits once OpenAI achieves artificial general intelligence (AGI) comparable to or exceeding human intelligence.
