Jensen Huang Reveals Nvidia’s Massive OpenAI Investment—Huge Bet But Under $100B
Nvidia's CEO just dropped a bombshell—the chip giant is diving headfirst into OpenAI's latest funding round.
Huang called the commitment "huge" but was quick to draw a line: the final figure won't crack the $100 billion mark. It's a strategic power play, placing one of AI's foundational hardware providers directly into the ecosystem of its most prominent software creator.
The Hardware Kingpin's Software Gambit
This isn't just another line item on a balance sheet. It's a vertical integration masterclass. Nvidia isn't just selling shovels during the AI gold rush anymore; it's buying a stake in the biggest mine. The move secures influence, ensures alignment, and potentially locks in future compute demand—straight from the source.
Silicon Meets Synapse
The investment blurs the traditional boundaries between infrastructure and application. When the company that builds the AI brain's physical architecture also backs the entities writing its software, the feedback loop tightens to a stranglehold. Development cycles could accelerate, creating a formidable, closed-loop advantage that competitors will struggle to match.
A "Huge" Bet With Calculated Limits
Even for a company riding the AI wave to a trillion-dollar valuation, there are limits. By publicly capping the investment below $100 billion, Huang signals disciplined aggression. It's a statement of immense confidence without the recklessness of a blank check—a nod to shareholders who still remember that tech valuations can, on rare occasion, go down. After all, what's a few tens of billions between pioneers shaping the future?
Nvidia cuts back from $100B OpenAI pledge after internal doubts
Back in September, Nvidia said it might invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI as part of a massive infrastructure expansion plan.
The idea was to support new AI data centers with power capacity of at least 10 gigawatts, the same electricity usage as all of New York City during peak demand, using Nvidia’s most advanced chips.
But inside the company, doubts started building. Some execs didn’t like the size of the number. Jensen had called the $100 billion letter of intent nonbinding, and said OpenAI lacked business discipline. He also raised flags about competition in the space.
That $100 billion is now off the table. Asked directly in Taipei whether he was unhappy with OpenAI, Jensen said, “That’s nonsense.” But he still confirmed that the new investment won’t come anywhere NEAR the earlier amount.
While OpenAI is a major buyer of Nvidia chips, the relationship is drawing questions. Investors have been worried that these kinds of setups, where big tech firms fund companies that also buy from them, could be propping up artificial demand.
This isn’t Nvidia’s first time doing this either. The company just announced another $2 billion investment into CoreWeave, a cloud firm that also buys a lot of Nvidia hardware.
Jensen defends Nvidia support for DeepSeek after US lawmaker complaint
During the same trip, Jensen addressed a separate controversy. John Moolenaar, the top Republican on the House China committee, sent a letter accusing Nvidia of helping DeepSeek, a Chinese AI firm, reach top performance with its R1 model.
That model rattled markets after it launched last year, causing the Nasdaq 100 to fall 3% in a single day.
Reporters asked about it. Jensen responded, “Whenever developers want to use our software, we openly support everyone. Every AI developer in the world works with Nvidia. And so I’m very proud of that.”
DeepSeek’s R1 model was built with limited resources but still hit strong performance, raising more concerns about global AI race dynamics and access to US technology. The company’s fast rise spooked investors because it showed how much performance could be squeezed out even without top-end infrastructure.
As for OpenAI’s ongoing raise, Sam has reportedly been meeting with investors from the Middle East to bring in more capital. The round may value OpenAI between $750 billion and $830 billion. Microsoft is also in talks to join. But none of those deals are final yet.
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