Amazon in talks over $50bn investment in OpenAI as AI arms race accelerates

Amazon is in early-stage talks to invest as much as $50 billion (£40bn) in OpenAI, in what would be one of the largest private technology investments ever made.

According to reports, discussions remain preliminary and the final size and structure of any deal have yet to be agreed. If completed at the upper end, the investment would make Amazon the single largest backer in OpenAI’s latest fundraising round.

The talks come as OpenAI looks to raise up to $100 billion, which would value the company at around $830 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The funding drive underlines the extraordinary demand for exposure to frontier AI companies as they pour billions into data centres, chips and computing infrastructure.

Big Tech groups and global investors are scrambling to deepen their ties with OpenAI, betting that closer partnerships with the ChatGPT-maker will deliver a strategic edge in the intensifying AI race.

Japan’s SoftBank Group is also in discussions to invest up to $30 billion in OpenAI, while the company continues to lay the groundwork for a potential stock market flotation that could eventually value it at close to $1 trillion.