OpenAI just closed the largest private funding round in history: 110 billion dollars.

The money is coming from some of the biggest names in tech. Amazon invested 50 billion dollars. Nvidia and SoftBank each put in 30 billion dollars. The deal values OpenAI at 730 billion dollars — up from 500 billion dollars just four months ago.

We are super excited about this deal, CEO Sam Altman told CNBC. AI is going to happen everywhere. It is transforming the whole economy, and the world needs a lot of collective computing power to meet the demand.

What This Means

This is more than double OpenAI last raise — which was already the largest private funding round in tech history. The company has now raised more than most Fortune 500 companies are worth.

The timing matters. OpenAI has been telling investors it is targeting roughly 600 billion dollars in total compute spend by 2030. That is a staggering number, but it reflects how expensive AI infrastructure has become. The company is projected to generate 280 billion dollars in revenue by 2030 — roughly split between consumer and enterprise products.

The Amazon Angle

Beyond the funding, Amazon announced a strategic partnership with OpenAI. The 50 billion dollar investment starts with an initial commitment of 15 billion dollars, with another 35 billion dollars coming later.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy called OpenAI one of the very big winners in AI long-term. The companies will develop customized AI models for Amazon customer-facing apps.

OpenAI is also expanding its existing 38 billion dollar agreement with AWS by another 100 billion dollars over eight years. AWS will serve as the exclusive cloud provider for OpenAI enterprise platform called Frontier.

Microsoft Is Not Out

Despite Amazon massive investment, Microsoft is not being pushed out. The companies issued a joint statement saying their partnership remains strong and central.

Microsoft still has an option to participate in the funding round, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The Bigger Picture

OpenAI has reshaped the technology industry since launching ChatGPT three years ago. But that transformation comes with a cost. The company needs billions in compute — GPUs, data centers, energy — just to keep up with demand.

Nvidia will provide 3 gigawatts of dedicated inference capacity and 2 gigawatts of training capacity on its Vera Rubin systems.

This is now the largest private financing in history. The previous record? Also OpenAI, with a 40 billion dollar raise last year. Rival Anthropic comes next at 30 billion dollars.

The question is no longer whether AI will transform the economy. It is whether anyone can afford to build it.

Sources:

• OpenAI - Scaling AI for everyone (official announcement)
• CNBC - OpenAI announces 110 billion funding round with backing from Amazon, Nvidia, SoftBank
• TechCrunch - OpenAI raises 110B in one of the largest private funding rounds in history
• Bloomberg - OpenAI Finalizes 110 Billion Funding at 730 Billion Value
• Reuters - OpenAI 110 billion funding round draws investment from Amazon, Nvidia, SoftBank