OpenAI is in early discussions to raise at least $10 billion from Amazon, a move that could deepen ties between the AI leader and the world’s largest cloud provider while reshaping competition in AI infrastructure. According to Bloomberg, the talks include the possibility of OpenAI adopting Amazon’s Trainium AI chips, reflecting a potential shift away from exclusive reliance on Nvidia hardware.

The discussions are preliminary and terms could still change, Bloomberg reported.

People familiar with the negotiations told Bloomberg that the proposed deal could value OpenAI at more than $500 billion, underscoring the company’s rapid rise as one of the most valuable private technology firms in the world. The talks reportedly involve OpenAI using Trainium, Amazon’s in-house AI chip, which is designed to handle the intensive computations required for training and running large AI models.

Both OpenAI and Amazon declined to comment on the discussions.

A deal with OpenAI would represent a significant win for Amazon’s semiconductor division, which has been working to expand its footprint in an AI chip market long dominated by Nvidia’s GPUs. While Nvidia remains the leading provider of AI hardware, major AI developers—including Meta—have begun exploring alternatives from competitors such as Google.

Trainium plays a central role in Amazon’s effort to differentiate its AI offerings beyond traditional cloud services. While Amazon Web Services (AWS) remains the world’s largest provider of rented computing power and data storage, it has faced growing competition in attracting AI developers, particularly from rivals such as Microsoft, which maintains a close relationship with OpenAI. By promoting its own AI chips alongside its cloud infrastructure, Amazon is seeking to strengthen its position in the increasingly competitive AI development market.

Amazon positions Trainium as a lower-cost, more efficient option for AI workloads compared with Nvidia’s graphics processing units. The company has emphasized affordability as it seeks to attract customers looking to manage the rising costs of AI model development.

The potential partnership highlights intensifying competition among cloud providers. Amazon Web Services (AWS) remains the world’s largest provider of cloud computing and data storage, but it has faced challenges translating that dominance into leadership among AI developers. Microsoft, one of OpenAI’s largest backers, has leveraged its close relationship with OpenAI to strengthen its own AI cloud offerings.

Bloomberg reported that discussions between OpenAI and Amazon began around October, following OpenAI’s corporate restructuring. As part of that overhaul, Microsoft took a 27% ownership stake in OpenAI after negotiations that lasted nearly a year.

OpenAI was last valued at $500 billion during an employee share sale, briefly surpassing SpaceX to become the world’s most valuable startup. The valuation reflects intense investor enthusiasm around AI companies seen as capable of transforming entire industries.

At the same time, some Wall Street analysts have cautioned that a potential investment bubble may be forming. Analysts have pointed to the circular nature of certain AI deals, where technology companies invest heavily in potential customers to sustain demand for their own products.

Any new investment would build on an already substantial relationship between the two companies. Last month, OpenAI and Amazon announced an agreement under which AWS will provide $38 billion in cloud computing capacity over seven years. That deal focused primarily on infrastructure powered by Nvidia chips, highlighting how significant a shift toward Trainium would be if talks progress.

Q: What is being discussed between OpenAI and Amazon?
A: According to Bloomberg, OpenAI is in preliminary talks to raise at least $10 billion from Amazon, potentially alongside adopting Amazon’s Trainium AI chips.

Q: Are the talks finalized?
A: No. Bloomberg reported that negotiations are at an early stage and terms could still change.

Q: Why would OpenAI consider using Amazon’s Trainium chips?
A: Trainium is positioned by Amazon as a more cost-efficient alternative to Nvidia GPUs for AI training and inference, which could help OpenAI manage compute costs at scale.

Q: How does this affect Nvidia?
A: Nvidia remains the dominant AI chip supplier, but large AI developers—including OpenAI, Meta, and Google—are increasingly exploring alternative hardware to reduce dependency on a single vendor.

Q: What role does Microsoft play in OpenAI’s structure?
A: Microsoft holds a 27% ownership stake in OpenAI following a recent corporate restructuring and remains one of its largest strategic partners.

Q: Does OpenAI already work with Amazon?
A: Yes. OpenAI and Amazon Web Services recently announced a $38 billion cloud infrastructure agreement spanning seven years.

As AI models grow more powerful and expensive to operate, who supplies the compute matters as much as who builds the models. For companies like OpenAI, relying on a single hardware or cloud partner can limit flexibility, pricing leverage, and long-term strategic options.

If OpenAI expands its use of Amazon’s Trainium chips, it highlights a growing reality for the AI industry: compute diversification is becoming a necessity, not an optimization. For enterprises and developers, this trend could eventually translate into more choice, different pricing dynamics, and less dependence on a single dominant chip ecosystem.

At a broader level, the talks underscore how AI leadership is increasingly shaped by infrastructure economics, not just model performance. As capital, cloud capacity, and custom chips become tightly linked, the competitive edge in AI may come from who can sustainably power models at scale—not just who can train the biggest one first.

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.