OpenAI has agreed to a $38 billion capacity purchase from Amazon Web Services (AWS), signaling a significant expansion of its cloud infrastructure beyond its primary partner, Microsoft.
Key Details of the AWS-OpenAI Agreement
- Massive Compute Power: OpenAI will utilize hundreds of thousands of Nvidia GPUs (including GB200s and GB300s) on AWS infrastructure in the United States to run its AI workloads, with plans for increased capacity in the coming years.
- Optimized Architecture: AWS is deploying an advanced architecture featuring Amazon EC2 UltraServers to cluster these Nvidia GPUs, enabling low-latency, peak performance for a range of tasks from training next-generation models to running inference for ChatGPT.
- New Capacity: AWS Vice President Dave Brown confirmed that the deal involves entirely separate capacity that AWS is deploying, though OpenAI is immediately utilizing some existing availability.
Shifting Cloud Strategy
This landmark partnership follows a change in OpenAI's relationship with Microsoft, its long-time exclusive cloud provider. Last week, the commercial terms allowing Microsoft "first say" on new requests ended, freeing OpenAI to expand ties with other hyperscalers.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated that this partnership strengthens the "broad compute ecosystem" required for "scaling frontier AI."
OpenAI's Broader Infrastructure Ambitions
The AWS deal is part of OpenAI's massive global AI infrastructure strategy:
- Trillion-Dollar Plans: The company has announced buildout agreements worth approximately $1.4 trillion with companies like Nvidia, Broadcom, Oracle, and Google.
- Stargate Project: This includes the ambitious $500 billion Stargate data center plan announced earlier this year, which aims to construct 30 gigawatts of compute power.
- U.S. Investment: OpenAI plans to invest over $400 billion in U.S.-based data center and AI infrastructure projects over the next three years, targeting locations like Abilene, Texas, and Shackelford County, Texas.
This extensive infrastructure buildout precedes a corporate reorganization that is expected to value OpenAI at $500 billion, positioning it for a potentially major Silicon Valley IPO.
November 2025, Cryptoniteuae