OpenAI and NVIDIA announced a letter of intent to deploy at least 10 gigawatts of NVIDIA systems, powering the next generation of AI models on the path toward superintelligence. The partnership marks one of the largest infrastructure undertakings in the AI industry to date.

To support the deployment, NVIDIA will progressively invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI, tied to each gigawatt of infrastructure brought online. The first gigawatt is expected in the second half of 2026, built on the NVIDIA Vera Rubin platform.

“NVIDIA and OpenAI have pushed each other for a decade, from the first DGX supercomputer to the breakthrough of ChatGPT,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. “This investment and infrastructure partnership mark the next leap forward — deploying 10 gigawatts to power the next era of intelligence.”

“Everything starts with compute,” added Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. “Compute infrastructure will be the basis for the economy of the future, and we will utilize what we’re building with NVIDIA to both create new AI breakthroughs and empower people and businesses with them at scale.”

The OpenAI–NVIDIA deal comes amid unprecedented global investment in AI infrastructure. According to TechCrunch, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang estimates that $3–4 trillion will be spent on AI data centers by the end of the decade.

Other companies are making similarly large commitments:

Microsoft has invested nearly $14 billion in OpenAI, much of it delivered through Azure cloud credits that offset OpenAI’s largest expense: compute. The partnership gave Microsoft early access to OpenAI’s models across Office, Windows, and Azure AI services, but in 2025 OpenAI ended its exclusive reliance on Azure, shifting to a multi-partner approach that reflects the scale of its infrastructure needs. At the same time, Microsoft began exploring other foundation models to power its own AI products, signaling a move toward greater independence from OpenAI even as the companies maintain close ties.

Oracle has emerged as a major force, first signing a $30 billion cloud services deal with OpenAI in mid-2025, then following up with a five-year, $300 billion compute contract set to begin in 2027. The sheer scale of the agreement is striking: OpenAI does not have $300 billion on hand, so the figure reflects expectations of immense growth for both companies — and no small measure of faith. Yet even before the first dollar is spent, the deal has already elevated Oracle into the top tier of AI infrastructure providers, solidifying its reputation as a financial and technological heavyweight in the sector.

Meta plans to spend $600 billion on U.S. infrastructure through 2028, building massive new data centers to power its AI initiatives. In the first half of 2025 alone, the company spent $30 billion more than the prior year, a surge driven largely by its expanding AI ambitions. Part of that outlay went toward major cloud contracts, including a $10 billion deal with Google Cloud, but an even larger share is being funneled into the construction of two massive new data centers. The Hyperion site in Louisiana, covering 2,250 acres, is expected to deliver 5 gigawatts of compute capacity with power from a nearby nuclear plant, while the smaller Prometheus facility in Ohio will run on natural gas starting in 2026.

xAI, founded by Elon Musk, has taken a different route, constructing a hybrid data center and power-generation plant in Tennessee. The site has already drawn scrutiny, as natural gas turbines make it one of the region’s largest emitters of smog-producing pollutants, raising questions about the environmental costs of AI compute.

The Stargate project — a $500 billion joint venture between SoftBank, Oracle, and OpenAI — was introduced in early 2025 with support from the Trump administration and described as the largest AI infrastructure project in history. Eight data centers are currently under construction in Texas with the final building expected to be completed by the end of 2026, but reports suggest disagreements among partners have slowed momentum.

This wave of mega-projects underscores how compute power has become the defining resource in the race to build and scale next-generation AI models.

As part of the deal, OpenAI will work with NVIDIA as its preferred strategic compute and networking partner for its AI factory growth plans. The companies will co-optimize their roadmaps, aligning OpenAI’s model and infrastructure software with NVIDIA’s hardware and platform development.

Both companies emphasized that the partnership is not just about scaling compute, but about advancing OpenAI’s mission to build artificial general intelligence (AGI) that benefits humanity. By combining OpenAI’s research expertise with NVIDIA’s hardware leadership, the collaboration is designed to accelerate breakthroughs while ensuring AI reaches people and businesses worldwide.

Greg Brockman, cofounder and president of OpenAI, emphasized the long-standing relationship: “We’ve been working closely with NVIDIA since the early days of OpenAI. We’ve utilized their platform to create AI systems that hundreds of millions of people use every day. We’re excited to deploy 10 gigawatts of compute with NVIDIA to push back the frontier of intelligence and scale the benefits of this technology to everyone.”

Q: What did OpenAI and NVIDIA announce?
A: A strategic partnership to deploy at least 10 gigawatts of NVIDIA systems, with NVIDIA investing up to $100 billion in OpenAI.

Q: When will the first systems go online?
A: The first gigawatt is expected in the second half of 2026, using the NVIDIA Vera Rubin platform.

Q: Why is this significant?
A: It represents one of the largest AI infrastructure deals to date, positioning NVIDIA as OpenAI’s preferred compute partner.

Q: How does this compare with other AI infrastructure investments?
A: Rivals like Oracle ($300B deal), Meta ($600B infrastructure spend), and the Stargate project ($500B) highlight the scale of global competition.

Q: What is the long-term goal?
A: To build the compute foundation for next-generation AI models and ultimately support superintelligence development.

The OpenAI–NVIDIA partnership cements compute infrastructure as the single most important resource in the global AI race. By committing $100 billion to 10 gigawatts of GPU power, the two companies are setting a new benchmark for scale, investment, and ambition.

For OpenAI, the deal ensures access to the hardware needed to train and deploy its most advanced models, keeping pace with rivals while pushing toward artificial general intelligence (AGI). For NVIDIA, it solidifies its position as the backbone of global AI development, reinforcing its dominance even as cloud providers and chip competitors seek alternatives.

The partnership also raises the stakes for competitors like Microsoft, Oracle, and Meta, each already committing hundreds of billions to infrastructure. As global spending surges toward the trillions, the environmental, economic, and geopolitical implications of such massive compute projects will become impossible to ignore.

If successful, the agreement could define how power, influence, and innovation in AI are distributed for the next decade — marking a turning point where AI infrastructure becomes the new arms race.

Editor’s Note: This article was created by Alicia Shapiro, CMO of AiNews.com, with writing, image, and idea-generation support from ChatGPT, an AI assistant. However, the final perspective and editorial choices are solely Alicia Shapiro’s. Special thanks to ChatGPT for assistance with research and editorial support in crafting this article.