OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is preparing to receive an investment of up to $100 billion from NVIDIA, which has the potential to change the competition to scale AI worldwide. This funding would support OpenAI in increasing the footprint of its data center, building infrastructure powerful enough to underpin the next wave of AI tools and products.
Huge infrastructure requirements and planning for the long haul
The investment includes plans to build data centers with a collective 10 gigawatts of power, which is the electricity of approximately 8 million homes. There was no specific timeline for construction mentioned; however, both companies stressed the scale and urgency of the project is unprecedented.
“This project is enormous,” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said in a joint CNBC appearance with OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Greg Brockman. Altman said the partnership marks an important step toward enhancing the scaling and economic productivity of OpenAI’s AI models.
“There are three things we have to get right,” Altman said. “We need world class AI research, we need products that people love, and we have to figure out this absolutely giant infrastructure problem.”
AI optimism sustains markets despite macroeconomic headwinds
The news of the relationships sent Nvidia stock price up over 3% in one day, contributing about $200 billion to its market capitalization and putting it even farther ahead as the most valuable publicly traded company in the world, with a valuation of almost $4.5 trillion.
The broader market followed suit. The S&P 500 was up 0.3%, the Nasdaq was up 0.6% and the Dow was up 0.1%. The sentiment around AI continues to be the dominant narrative even as macro signals are pointing to a cautious environment. The Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the first time in 2025 last week and identified signs of softer labor market and weakening demand.
“The labor market is really cooling off,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at the time, considering the rate decision as a proactive move to help maintain momentum. Regardless of those signals, the appetite for AI infrastructure is still outpacing worries about an overall slowdown.
