OpenAI is in discussions with Amazon about a potential investment and a broader partnership that could exceed ten billion dollars, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The talks, which remain confidential and subject to change, would also involve OpenAI using Amazon’s artificial intelligence chips, CNBC confirmed Tuesday.
If completed, the OpenAI Amazon investment would mark one of the largest cross industry deals in the rapidly expanding generative AI market and underscore how competition among major technology firms is reshaping long-standing partnerships.
The discussions come months after OpenAI completed a major corporate restructuring in October, a move that loosened its historical dependence on Microsoft.
Under updated terms disclosed at that time, Microsoft no longer holds a right of first refusal to serve as OpenAI’s exclusive compute provider, giving the AI company greater freedom to raise capital and work with other cloud and chip providers.
Microsoft has invested more than thirteen billion dollars in OpenAI since backing the company in two thousand nineteen. While the partnership remains intact, OpenAI is now able to develop some products and infrastructure arrangements with third parties.
Amazon, through Amazon Web Services, has been steadily increasing its footprint in artificial intelligence. The company has already invested at least eight billion dollars in Anthropic, an OpenAI rival, and has positioned AWS as a central supplier of AI infrastructure.
“The OpenAI Amazon investment talks reflect a broader decoupling in the AI ecosystem,” said Laura Chen, a technology policy analyst at the Center for Digital Innovation.
“AI developers are seeking flexibility, while cloud providers are competing to lock in long term demand for compute.”
Chen added that access to custom designed chips could help OpenAI control costs as model training and deployment grow more expensive.
An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment on specific negotiations, while OpenAI said it does not comment on rumors or ongoing discussions.
Amazon Web Services has been designing its own AI chips since around two thousand fifteen. It introduced Inferentia chips in two thousand eighteen and announced the latest generation of Trainium chips earlier this month.
These chips are aimed at training and running large scale AI models more efficiently than general purpose processors.
OpenAI has made more than one point four trillion dollars in infrastructure commitments in recent months, according to company disclosures. These include agreements with Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom.
Last month, OpenAI signed its first major contract with AWS, agreeing to purchase thirty eight billion dollars worth of cloud capacity. That deal alone signaled a shift in how the company balances its compute needs across providers.
Inside the developer community, the potential OpenAI Amazon investment is being closely watched.
“More competition among cloud providers is generally good for startups and researchers,” said Daniel Ortiz, an AI engineer based in San Francisco who builds applications on OpenAI’s models.
“If OpenAI has multiple infrastructure partners, it could mean more stability and possibly lower prices over time.”
A Seattle based AWS employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the talks have generated excitement internally.
“There’s a sense that AWS wants to prove it can power the most demanding AI workloads, not just host them,” the employee said.
Amazon’s interest in OpenAI comes as rivals deepen their own AI investments. Microsoft announced last month it would invest up to five billion dollars in Anthropic, while Nvidia disclosed plans to invest as much as ten billion dollars in the startup.
OpenAI, meanwhile, finalized a secondary share sale in October totaling six point six billion dollars.
The transaction allowed current and former employees to sell stock at a valuation of about five hundred billion dollars, highlighting investor confidence in the company’s long term prospects.
Analysts said any OpenAI Amazon investment would likely be structured to avoid exclusivity, reflecting OpenAI’s new strategy of diversifying both capital and infrastructure.
While details remain fluid, the OpenAI Amazon investment talks illustrate how alliances in artificial intelligence are evolving as demand for compute power accelerates.
With cloud providers, chipmakers and AI developers increasingly intertwined, the outcome could influence how advanced AI systems are built and deployed across the industry.
For now, both companies continue to expand their roles in a market defined by rapid growth, heavy spending and intensifying competition.
