Huang clarifies Nvidia’s $100 billion OpenAI funding intent

Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang said the company’s proposed $100 billion investment in OpenAI was never a firm commitment and that Nvidia would approach any funding rounds gradually.

“It was never a commitment,” Huang told journalists in Taipei on Sunday. “They invited us to invest up to $100 billion and of course we were very happy and honored that they invited us, but we will invest one step at a time,” News.Az reports, citing Bloomberg.

Under a letter of intent signed in September, Nvidia said it planned to invest as much as $100 billion in OpenAI to support the development of new data centers and other artificial intelligence infrastructure. The proposed arrangement was intended to help OpenAI build data centers with a capacity of at least 10 gigawatts of power—roughly equivalent to the peak electricity demand of New York City—using Nvidia’s advanced chips to train and deploy AI models.

On Friday, Wall Street Journal reported that the investment plan announced in September had stalled after some within Nvidia raised concerns. Citing people familiar with the matter, the newspaper said Huang had privately stressed that the $100 billion agreement was nonbinding, criticized what he described as a lack of discipline in OpenAI’s business approach, and voiced concerns about growing competition.

Asked on Saturday about reports suggesting dissatisfaction with OpenAI, Huang dismissed them. “That’s nonsense,” he said.
“We will invest a great deal of money,” Huang added. “I believe in OpenAI. The work that they do is incredible. They’re one of the most consequential companies of our time.”

Huang did not specify how much Nvidia might ultimately contribute, but described the investment as “huge” and potentially “the largest investment we’ve ever made.” He added that Nvidia’s participation in OpenAI’s current funding round would not come close to $100 billion.

When questioned about whether plans to deploy the first gigawatt of capacity under the joint investment initiative were on schedule, Huang said the timeline depended on OpenAI. “It’s up to OpenAI,” he said. “It’s their infrastructure.”

Nvidia’s proposed investment in OpenAI—one of the largest buyers of its advanced AI chips—has fueled investor concerns over the circular nature of recent AI deals. Critics have questioned whether such partnerships, in which technology firms invest in companies that are also major customers, may be artificially sustaining demand. In a similar move, Nvidia recently announced plans to invest an additional $2 billion in CoreWeave, another cloud provider that is also a key Nvidia customer.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev