OpenAI adds more sites, Nvidia ramps up stake

CoreWeave has added another $6.5 billion to its cloud supply deal with OpenAI, taking the total value of their partnership to $22.4 billion.

This is the third major expansion of the deal in just one year. The first was a $11.9 billion agreement signed in March. Then came another $4 billion in May. This latest move shows how far both companies are going to lock down the compute power needed for AI systems like ChatGPT.

The update came just as OpenAI announced new sites for its data project “Stargate.” OpenAI said Tuesday it’s launching three new facilities with Oracle, its main cloud partner, in a $300 billion deal over several years, and two more with SoftBank.

These five new sites will run alongside OpenAI’s existing flagship site in Abilene, Texas, and the ongoing CoreWeave projects. According to OpenAI, all of that adds up to nearly 7 gigawatts of planned data capacity and a projected $400 billion in spending over the next three years.

OpenAI adds more sites, Nvidia ramps up stake

OpenAI said in a blog post, “The combined capacity from these five new sites—along with our flagship site in Abilene, Texas, and ongoing projects with CoreWeave—brings Stargate to nearly 7 gigawatts of planned capacity and over $400 billion in investment over the next three years.”

That’s not the ceiling. OpenAI is aiming for 10 gigawatts in total and might spend as much as $500 billion to get there. These numbers are way beyond what anyone thought possible just a year ago.

CoreWeave’s stock (CRWV.O) reacted to the announcement by cutting early trading losses. It ended up down about 4% in premarket hours. Reuters was the first to report the new expansion.

Meanwhile, Nvidia is pushing deeper into this mess. It announced plans this week to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI and send over massive shipments of data-center chips. That gives Nvidia a financial stake in one of its biggest clients, which is already stirring up antitrust concerns.

But Nvidia isn’t just betting on OpenAI. It also owns more than 5% of CoreWeave. The chipmaker has been backing the AI cloud provider with both cash and chips. In return, CoreWeave signed a $6.3 billion order with Nvidia this month for hardware. The terms of that deal guarantee Nvidia will buy any extra cloud space from CoreWeave that doesn’t get sold to customers.

Now, between OpenAI’s Stargate plan, Oracle’s sites, SoftBank’s additions, CoreWeave’s supply guarantees, and Nvidia’s double investment, every player is stacking contracts like poker chips. None of them is folding.

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