A major funding move may soon reshape the AI investment landscape, as Amazon is in discussions to invest up to $50 billion in OpenAI, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The talks involve direct discussions between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. The source said the details remain confidential and the final amount could change. A business channel confirmed the development on Thursday. Amazon declined to comment, while a newspaper first reported the $50 billion figure.
Amazon has already invested billions of dollars in OpenAI rival Anthropic since 2023. The new talks signal a possible shift in strategy as Amazon looks to deepen its position in the AI market.
OpenAI is also holding fundraising discussions with other investors. The overall funding round could reach about $100 billion. The source said the round may close in 2 stages, starting with strategic investors such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Nvidia. This could be followed by contributions from others, including SoftBank, which is in talks to invest up to $30 billion.
Sam Altman was in the United Arab Emirates last week for investment talks with sovereign wealth funds, according to earlier reports.
OpenAI was founded as a nonprofit research lab in 2015 and gained global attention in 2022 after launching ChatGPT. It has since become one of the world’s largest commercial AI firms. Its valuation rose to $500 billion in October after a secondary share sale.
Amazon and OpenAI have been in discussions since last year. The final deal could include an agreement for OpenAI to use Amazon’s AI chips.
Anthropic, founded in 2021 by former OpenAI executives and researchers, is known for its Claude AI models. It closed a funding round at a $350 billion valuation earlier this month. Amazon Web Services became Anthropic’s primary cloud provider in 2023 and its main training partner in 2024.
Amazon is cutting costs to fund AI expansion and data centers. On Wednesday, it announced plans to cut about 16,000 corporate jobs. Last October, it opened an $11 billion data center campus for Anthropic in Indiana. The company has forecast capital spending of $125 billion for 2026.
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