ChatGPT owner OpenAI signs $38 billion cloud computing deal with Amazon

OpenAI has signed a $38bn (£29bn) deal with Amazon to access its cloud computing infrastructure, the launch continues his streak of great partnerships to provide computing power.

In 2025, the ChatGPT maker has signed deals worth over $1 trillion with Oracle, Broadcom, AMD and chip giant Nvidia. The latest deal reduces dependence on Microsoft.

As part of the seven-year agreement, OpenAI will get access to Nvidia GPUs to train its AI models.

The transaction follows a a massive overhaul of OpenAI last week which saw it convert from a non-profit organization and change its relationship with Microsoft to give OpenAI more operational and financial freedom.

“Scaling frontier AI requires massive, reliable computing,” said OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman.

“Our partnership with AWS (Amazon Web Services) strengthens the broad computing ecosystem that will power this next era and bring advanced AI to everyone.”

The deal reflects the huge demand for computing power coming from growing interest in AI — and OpenAI’s rush to provide the power it needs.

OpenAI, which brought AI into the consumer mainstream with the 2022 launch of ChatGPT, has relied on Microsoft for computing power for years. The two firms had an exclusive cloud agreement until January of this year, when their relationship soured.

The AI ​​startup’s first agreement with Amazon’s AWS marks its latest move away from Microsoft into diverse sources of computing power.

“The AWS deal shows that OpenAI believes its path to leadership is paved with access to as much computing power as it can get,” said Kim Forrest, chief investment officer at Bokeh Capital Partners.

Microsoft “taking a less controlling stake in the company has made ties with near-competitor OpenAI funders possible,” she added.

But OpenAI is unprofitable because it spends a lot to advance the development of AI technology. Quarterly results from Microsoft last week showed that OpenAI lost $12 billion in the last quarter alone.

After the deal was announced on Monday, Amazon shares hit an all-time high, adding $140bn (£106bn) to its valuation.

AWS is “uniquely positioned to support OpenAI’s massive AI workloads,” Matt Garman, AWS CEO, said in a statement.

Leading AI firms are investing in each other, creating a tangled web of deals that commands attention. OpenAI is at the center of this network.

In response to the frenzy of OpenAI deals, there has been some speculation that an The AI ​​bubble may pop.

Speaking to the BBC last month, Sam Altman said: “Yes, investment lending is unprecedented,” but added: “It’s also unprecedented for companies to grow revenue so quickly.”

Warnings came from the Bank of England and the International Monetary Fund, as well as JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon, who told the BBC that “the level of uncertainty must be higher in most people’s minds”.