SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 29, 2026, 07:28 PST
- Nvidia, Microsoft and Amazon are in talks to invest up to $60 billion in OpenAI, The Information reported.
- SoftBank is separately in talks to invest up to $30 billion more, Reuters reported, as OpenAI seeks more capital for AI infrastructure.
- Investors are pressing Big Tech for clearer returns as AI spending climbs, even as competition from Google and others tightens.
Nvidia, Microsoft and Amazon are in talks to invest up to $60 billion in OpenAI, The Information reported on Wednesday, in what could become one of the largest cash infusions yet into the ChatGPT maker. Nvidia has discussed putting in as much as $30 billion, Microsoft less than $10 billion, and Amazon more than $10 billion and potentially over $20 billion, the report said; Reuters could not immediately verify it. (Reuters)
The talks matter because OpenAI’s costs are rising fast as it trains and runs larger artificial intelligence models, forcing the company back to investors even as demand for AI tools spreads across business software and consumer apps.
They also land at a tense moment for the AI boom: cloud giants are spending heavily on chips and data centers, while customers are shopping around and rivals keep closing gaps. OpenAI’s funding choices now will shape who supplies the computing behind its models — and who gets first call on its products.
The Information said OpenAI was close to receiving term sheets. A term sheet is a preliminary document that lays out the main terms of a deal before final contracts are signed.
Amazon’s potential investment could hinge on separate negotiations, including a possible expansion of OpenAI’s cloud server rental deal with Amazon and a commercial arrangement for OpenAI to sell products such as enterprise ChatGPT subscriptions to Amazon, the report said. Amazon and Microsoft declined to comment, while Nvidia and OpenAI did not immediately respond to Reuters requests outside regular business hours.
In early U.S. trading, Microsoft shares were down about 11%, while Nvidia and Amazon each fell around 1.5%.
The talks follow a separate report that SoftBank is discussing investing up to an additional $30 billion in OpenAI as part of a round that could raise as much as $100 billion and value the company at about $830 billion, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. SoftBank completed a $41 billion investment in OpenAI in December, giving it an 11% stake, Reuters reported. (Reuters)
The Financial Times also reported OpenAI was in talks to raise nearly $40 billion from Nvidia, Amazon and Microsoft as part of a broader fundraise, and flagged concerns about “financial circularity” because the same companies supply much of the computing OpenAI buys. (Financial Times)
Microsoft, OpenAI’s biggest backer, has tried to convince investors its AI spending will pay off, even as costs rise. CEO Satya Nadella said AI remains in the “early innings,” but one Microsoft shareholder, Eric Clark of the LOGO ETF, pointed to pressure on profitability: “revenues are up 17% and the cost of revenues are up 19%.” (Reuters)
Investors are increasingly treating OpenAI exposure as a double-edged sword for Microsoft. “Microsoft’s deep ties to OpenAI underpin its leadership in enterprise AI, but they also introduce concentration risk,” Zavier Wong, a market analyst at eToro, told Reuters. (Reuters)
The risk for OpenAI is that the headline numbers never turn into checks. Reuters has not verified The Information’s report, and term sheets can change or collapse, especially when they sit alongside separate talks over cloud contracts, product distribution and governance. Big Tech buying deeper into a key AI supplier could also invite tougher questions from regulators and customers about independence and competition.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang added another wrinkle on Thursday, saying he would “love to invest” in OpenAI when asked about further backing for the company, without confirming details of any round. Nvidia is already closely tied to OpenAI because its chips power many of the systems used to train and run AI models. (Reuters)
