Amazon is in early discussions to invest as much as $10 billion in OpenAI, a move that could deepen ties between the cloud giant and one of the most influential AI labs, CNBC reported. The deal would reportedly involve OpenAI using Amazon’s in-house AI chips, reinforcing Amazon Web Services’ role in large-scale AI training and deployment.
If completed, the investment would value OpenAI at more than $500 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing an anonymous source. Such a valuation would place OpenAI among the most valuable private companies globally and underscore investor confidence in generative AI platforms as demand accelerates across industries.
The talks come as Amazon seeks to diversify its position in the AI market. The company has already committed up to $8 billion to Anthropic, a direct OpenAI rival, and has integrated Anthropic’s models into AWS offerings. Earlier this month, Amazon also unveiled the latest generation of its Trainium AI chips and outlined plans for future iterations, positioning them as cost-effective alternatives to Nvidia hardware for large-scale model training.
Circular Deals Reshape AI Infrastructure
An Amazon investment in OpenAI would mark the latest example of so-called circular deals in the AI sector. In these arrangements, cloud providers or chipmakers invest in AI startups, which in turn commit to using the investors’ infrastructure, chips, or data centers. The structure aligns incentives while locking in long-term demand for compute resources.
OpenAI has already engaged in several such deals. In March, it invested $350 million in CoreWeave, which used the capital to purchase Nvidia chips that now provide compute capacity back to OpenAI. In October, OpenAI took a 10% stake in AMD while agreeing to use the chipmaker’s AI GPUs, and it also signed a chip usage agreement with Broadcom the same month. In November, OpenAI finalized a $38 billion cloud computing deal with Amazon, further cementing their commercial relationship. In December it OpenAI took an ownership stake in Thrive Holdings.
These arrangements reflect the rising cost and strategic importance of AI infrastructure. Training frontier models increasingly requires massive capital outlays, making partnerships with cloud and hardware providers critical to sustaining development.
Strategic Context for OpenAI and Amazon
The reported talks follow OpenAI’s recent transition to a for-profit structure, a shift that allows it greater flexibility in raising capital beyond Microsoft, which remains a major shareholder with a reported 27% stake. That change has opened the door for broader strategic partnerships as OpenAI scales its compute needs and global footprint.
For Amazon, investing in OpenAI could complement its existing AI strategy by expanding adoption of AWS services and proprietary chips. It would also hedge against overreliance on any single AI partner while strengthening Amazon’s position as a core infrastructure provider in the AI ecosystem.
Neither Amazon nor OpenAI commented on the reported discussions. If finalized, the deal would underscore how capital, compute, and AI development are becoming increasingly intertwined as competition intensifies across the generative AI market.
