American startup OpenAI has raised a record $110 billion in a new funding round. Bloomberg estimated that the company’s pre‑money valuation was $730 billion and rose to $840 billion after the deal closed. The round is one of the largest in tech history, cementing OpenAI’s status as the world’s most valuable AI developer.
Lead investors included Amazon, Nvidia, and SoftBank. Amazon committed a record-breaking $50 billion in venture capital, while Nvidia and SoftBank each contributed $30 billion. OpenAI plans to use the proceeds to expand computing capacity, develop infrastructure, and accelerate research amid intensifying competition in the generative-AI market.
The deal’s terms suppose deep integration with the investors’ ecosystems. OpenAI is committed to spending an additional $100 billion over eight years on Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud services. This complements a November agreement worth $38 billion over seven years. In particular, the startup will begin broad deployment of Amazon’s Trainium AI chips.
Bloomberg analysts emphasize that the transaction is a classic example of cross-financing, where infrastructure and chip suppliers invest in startups that then return the funds as payments for services and equipment. That model carries systemic risks: major players could suffer substantial losses if AI commercialization fails to match the billions invested.
