NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has stated that the chipmaker has no obligation to invest in OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, emphasizing that NVIDIA prefers to “invest one step at a time.”
Despite OpenAI’s announcement suggesting that NVIDIA plans to invest up to $100 billion in the AI firm, it appears that NVIDIA has different intentions, or at least does not plan to commit the entire $100 billion at once.
Speaking to reporters in Taipei, Huang clarified that the $100 billion figure was never a commitment. “They invited us to invest up to $100 billion, and of course, we were, we were very happy and honored that they invited us, but we will invest one step at a time,” he said.
Back in September last year, OpenAI announced a new partnership with NVIDIA, the world’s largest AI chip maker. As part of the partnership, OpenAI said it would be able to deploy at least 10 gigawatts of AI data centers powered by millions of NVIDIA chips. At the time, OpenAI stated that NVIDIA intended to invest up to $100 billion in the company gradually, as each gigawatt was deployed.
The deal appeared to be a win-win for both sides. NVIDIA would sell millions of its state-of-the-art AI chips to OpenAI, further strengthening its presence in data centers, while OpenAI would secure the funding needed to expand its artificial intelligence infrastructure. However, despite early optimism, the deal is now facing serious setbacks.
On Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported that some people inside NVIDIA have expressed doubts about the deal and that talks between the companies have not progressed beyond the early stages. “Now, the two sides are rethinking the future of their partnership, some of the people said. The latest discussions, they said, include an equity investment of tens of billions of dollars as part of OpenAI’s current funding round,” the WSJ added.
The outlet also reported that NVIDIA’s CEO has criticized a “lack of discipline in OpenAI’s business approach” and expressed concerns about OpenAI’s competition with Google and Anthropic.
Via: Bloomberg