OpenAI’s latest funding round has drawn interest from the three most valuable tech companies, underscoring how vital the artificial intelligence (AI) startup is to the broader industry.
Nvidia, the world’s biggest chipmaker, has discussed joining a funding round that would value OpenAI at more than US$100 billion, people familiar with the matter said. Apple and Microsoft have also been in talks about participating in the financing, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private.
The proposed round would be led by Thrive Capital, which is investing about US$1 billion, Bloomberg reported recently. Nvidia has discussed investing about US$100 million, two of the people said.
If the discussions move forward, it would mean three of the biggest names in tech would all be backing OpenAI, maker of the ground-breaking ChatGPT chatbot. Each firm has become dependent on the startup in recent years. Microsoft is already OpenAI’s biggest funder, having invested roughly US$13 billion. Apple, which had a late start in AI, is leaning on OpenAI to help weave AI into an upcoming version of the iPhone operating system. And Nvidia will rise alongside the popularity of the tools it powers.
Representatives for Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, OpenAI and Thrive all declined to comment.
Big Tech’s influence over AI has been drawing mounting scrutiny, with regulators in both the EU and US expressing concerns about Nvidia’s dominance in AI chips and Microsoft’s close relationship with OpenAI. Microsoft has tightly integrated OpenAI’s services into its Windows and Copilot AI platforms – a bet that the capabilities will help drive growth.
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Apple has existing ties with OpenAI as well. The iPhone maker is adding ChatGPT to its new suite of AI features, called Apple Intelligence. The company also was slated to take a board observer seat at OpenAI – alongside Microsoft – but those plans were dropped in July.
Nvidia, meanwhile, supplies the critical infrastructure needed to develop and run AI tools such as ChatGPT. It’s the biggest maker of so-called AI accelerators, sales of which have soared over the past two years.
In Nvidia’s latest quarterly report, revenue more than doubled to US$30 billion. It predicted even bigger sales in the current quarter, topping the average analysts’ estimates, though investors have grown so accustomed to blowout results that the shares still declined.
OpenAI chief financial officer Sarah Friar told employees in a memo recently that the company was seeking fresh capital, without giving details, according to people familiar with the matter. The company has been in discussions to raise funding at a valuation at or above US$100 billion since at least December, Bloomberg has reported.
The financing would bolster one of the world’s most valuable venture-backed startups. The runaway success of ChatGPT also has kicked off an arms race among tech companies, which are integrating AI technology across their products and funding other promising startups.
In her memo to employees, Friar said that OpenAI would use the financing to acquire more computing power and fund other operating expenses, the people said.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported on the discussions with Apple. BLOOMBERG
