Author: Mark Gurman, Dina Bass, Katie Roof, Edward Ludlow, Bloomberg; Translated by: Baishui, Golden Finance
Nvidia Corp., the world’s largest chipmaker, has discussed joining a funding round for OpenAI that would value the artificial intelligence startup at more than $100 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. are also in talks to participate in the financing, the people said, asking not to be identified because the talks are private. Bloomberg News reported earlier this week that the round would be led by Thrive Capital, which will invest about $1 billion. Two people familiar with the matter said Nvidia has discussed investing about $100 million.
If the talks go forward, it would mean three of the most valuable tech companies would back OpenAI, maker of the groundbreaking ChatGPT chatbot. Microsoft is already OpenAI’s largest funder, with an investment of about $13 billion.
Big tech companies’ influence over AI is coming under increasing scrutiny, with regulators in both the European Union and the United States expressing concerns about Nvidia’s dominance in AI chips and Microsoft’s close relationship with OpenAI, which has tightly integrated OpenAI’s services into its Windows and Copilot AI platforms — betting those features will help drive growth.
Apple also has ties to OpenAI. The iPhone maker is adding ChatGPT to its new suite of AI features, Apple Intelligence. The company also planned to serve as a board observer at OpenAI along with Microsoft, but those plans were scrapped in July.
Nvidia, meanwhile, provides the critical infrastructure needed to develop and run AI tools like ChatGPT. It is the largest maker of so-called AI accelerators, and its sales have soared over the past two years.
Revenue more than doubled to $30 billion in Nvidia’s latest quarterly report on Wednesday. The company forecast even higher sales for the current quarter, beating analysts’ average estimate, but the stock fell even though investors have become accustomed to blowout results.
OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar told employees in a memo on Wednesday that the company is seeking new capital, but did not disclose details, according to people familiar with the matter. The company has been discussing raising funds at a valuation of $100 billion or more since at least December, Bloomberg News has reported.
The financing will bolster one of the world’s most valuable venture-backed startups. ChatGPT’s runaway success has also sparked an arms race among tech companies that are integrating AI technology into their products and funding other promising startups.
OpenAI will use the funding to acquire more computing power and fund other operating expenses, Friar said in a memo to employees, according to people familiar with the matter.
