Altman, Huang and the last-minute negotiations that sealed the $100 billion OpenAI-Nvidia deal

Core Insights - OpenAI and Nvidia have formed a monumental $100 billion partnership aimed at advancing AI infrastructure, marking a significant moment in the tech industry as both companies are central to the AI boom [2][3][4] - Nvidia's investment will involve a structured financing approach, with an initial $10 billion tranche locked in at a $500 billion valuation, followed by nine additional $10 billion rounds [13][19] - OpenAI's infrastructure projects will be integrated under the Stargate initiative, which encompasses all major compute capacity deals, including the recent partnership with Nvidia [8][17] Company Relationships - OpenAI's relationship with Nvidia has deepened, as Nvidia will supply advanced processors for new data centers, while OpenAI navigates partnerships with other key players like Microsoft and Oracle [6][11] - Microsoft was informed of the Nvidia deal only a day before its announcement, highlighting the evolving dynamics in OpenAI's partnerships [7] - OpenAI's agreement with Oracle involves a commitment to spend $300 billion on computing power over five years, starting in 2027 [8] Infrastructure Development - The partnership aims to build AI supercomputing facilities, with the first of the planned 10 gigawatt sites expected to go online in the latter half of next year [9][10] - OpenAI has reviewed 700 to 800 potential locations for its infrastructure, narrowing down options based on energy availability and financing terms [10] - The overall financing strategy indicates that OpenAI may take on debt to fund the broader expansion, as equity is viewed as an expensive option [19] Market Position and Future Plans - OpenAI is positioned to potentially operate as a first-party cloud provider, competing with major players like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, as its compute needs grow [20][21] - There is speculation about OpenAI launching a commercial cloud offering within one to two years, contingent on securing sufficient compute resources [21] - The partnership with Nvidia and the Stargate initiative reflect the ambitious plans of OpenAI and its leadership in the AI sector [22]