Amazon is in early-stage talks to invest as much as $50 billion (£40bn) in OpenAI, in what would be one of the largest private technology investments ever made.
According to reports, discussions remain preliminary and the final size and structure of any deal have yet to be agreed. If completed at the upper end, the investment would make Amazon the single largest backer in OpenAI’s latest fundraising round.
The talks come as OpenAI looks to raise up to $100 billion, which would value the company at around $830 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The funding drive underlines the extraordinary demand for exposure to frontier AI companies as they pour billions into data centres, chips and computing infrastructure.
Big Tech groups and global investors are scrambling to deepen their ties with OpenAI, betting that closer partnerships with the ChatGPT-maker will deliver a strategic edge in the intensifying AI race.
Japan’s SoftBank Group is also in discussions to invest up to $30 billion in OpenAI, while the company continues to lay the groundwork for a potential stock market flotation that could eventually value it at close to $1 trillion.
The negotiations are being led by Andy Jassy and Sam Altman (pictured), highlighting how central AI has become to Amazon’s long-term strategy, particularly through its cloud computing arm.
Amazon already has significant exposure to the AI sector. It has invested around $8 billion in Anthropic, a fast-growing OpenAI rival whose services have gained strong traction with enterprise customers. Anthropic was recently valued at $183 billion and has forecast that its annualised revenue run rate could nearly triple in 2026 to around $26 billion.
OpenAI, meanwhile, continues to expand its computing partnerships. This month it signed a $10 billion deal with Cerebras, an emerging competitor to Nvidia, whose chips currently power much of OpenAI’s AI infrastructure.
The potential Amazon investment is part of a wider funding scramble. Reports suggest Microsoft, OpenAI’s long-standing strategic partner, and Nvidia are also in talks to participate in the round. Nvidia is said to be considering an investment of up to $30 billion, while Microsoft’s contribution would likely be below $10 billion.
Amazon declined to comment on the reports, and OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
If finalised, a $50bn commitment from Amazon would represent a dramatic escalation in the battle between the world’s largest technology companies to secure influence over the future direction of artificial intelligence, and the infrastructure that will underpin it.
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Amazon in talks over $50bn investment in OpenAI as AI arms race accelerates