Nvidia dropped some serious news Monday – they’re planning to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI. That’s not a typo. We’re talking about building massive data centers specifically for training and running AI models.

The companies signed a letter of intent to deploy 10 gigawatts worth of Nvidia systems. To put that in perspective, that’s enough electricity to power millions of homes. All of it dedicated to powering OpenAI’s next generation of AI infrastructure.

This deal does something pretty important for OpenAI – it helps them rely less on Microsoft.

Breaking Free From Microsoft’s Grip

Microsoft has been OpenAI’s biggest investor and main supplier of cloud computing resources. But in January, Microsoft announced changes to their partnership that let OpenAI work with other partners on AI infrastructure projects.

Since then, OpenAI has been branching out. They’ve teamed up with various partners on AI data center projects like Stargate. Nvidia says this new deal will work alongside OpenAI’s existing partnerships with Microsoft, Oracle, and SoftBank rather than replacing them.

OpenAI will work with Nvidia as their “preferred strategic compute and networking partner” for what they’re calling AI factory growth.

The Mystery of How This Gets Paid

Here’s what nobody’s quite clear on yet – how exactly Nvidia will make this investment. Will it be actual cash? Computer chips? Cloud computing credits? The companies haven’t spelled out those details.

This flexibility in payment structure makes sense when you think about it. Nvidia makes the chips that power AI systems, so they could potentially provide the hardware directly rather than writing a massive check.

What This Means for the AI Race

This partnership puts serious computing muscle behind OpenAI’s expansion plans. Having dedicated, purpose-built infrastructure could help them compete more effectively against other AI companies who are also racing to build bigger and better models.

For Nvidia, it’s a way to lock in a major customer for their AI chips while potentially getting equity or other benefits from OpenAI’s continued growth.

The timing makes sense too. As AI models get more complex and demanding, having guaranteed access to massive computing resources becomes increasingly valuable for companies like OpenAI.