Nvidia in talks to invest up to $30B in OpenAI at $730B valuation

NVIDIA is weighing a blockbuster move that could deepen its ties with the most closely watched company in artificial intelligence. The chip giant is in discussions to invest as much as $30 billion in OpenAI as part of a funding round that could value the startup at roughly $730 billion pre-money, CNBC confirmed.

If completed, the deal would rank among the largest strategic bets ever made in the AI sector and would further tighten the relationship between the world’s leading AI chip supplier and one of the technology’s biggest beneficiaries.

“Nvidia is in discussions to invest up to $30 billion in OpenAI as part of a funding round that could value the AI startup at a $730 billion pre-money valuation,” CNBC reported.

The proposed investment stands apart from the $100 billion infrastructure framework OpenAI and Nvidia announced in September, according to a person familiar with the talks. That earlier arrangement outlined a multi-year structure tied to the build-out of new supercomputing capacity. Under that plan, Nvidia’s first $10 billion commitment was expected to be triggered once the first gigawatt of capacity came online.

Inside Nvidia’s Potential $30B Bet on OpenAI’s Next Funding Round

The newly discussed $30 billion investment is not connected to deployment milestones, the source said. It remains under negotiation and could still change.

The September announcement sent shockwaves through the tech sector and triggered a wave of infrastructure deals across the AI ecosystem. Yet questions have lingered in recent months about the status of that framework, especially after the Wall Street Journal reported in January that the deal was “on ice.”

NVIDIA itself struck a cautious tone in its November quarterly filing, stating that “no assurance that we will enter into definitive agreements with respect to the OpenAI opportunity or other potential investments.”

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman pushed back on speculation about tension between the companies, writing in a post on X that OpenAI enjoys working with Nvidia and that he doesn’t “get where all this insanity is coming from.”

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang offered a similarly upbeat message during a recent interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer, saying there was “no question” the company planned to participate in OpenAI’s next funding round.

The broader raise is expected to be massive. OpenAI has been in talks with multiple investors, and the full round could reach roughly $100 billion, CNBC previously reported. Discussions have picked up speed in recent weeks, though nothing has been finalized.

Current plans call for the financing to unfold in two phases. Strategic backers such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Nvidia would anchor the first tranche, followed by participation from a wider pool of investors.

For Nvidia, the potential investment reflects more than financial upside. It signals a continued push to lock in its position at the center of the AI infrastructure stack, where demand for advanced compute shows few signs of cooling. For OpenAI, the talks point to investor appetite that remains intense, even as the price tag climbs into territory once reserved for the world’s largest public tech companies.

Whether the full $30 billion materializes remains an open question. What is clear is that the AI capital race is far from slowing down.