OpenAI Nears Deal for $100B in Funding
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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This is Bloomberg Tech. Coming up, OpenAI is close to finalizing the first phase of a new funding round that could bring in more than $100 billion. Plus, Mark Zuckerberg testified in a landmark social media trial and said it is, quote, very difficult to enforce Instagram's age limits. And the DOJ is taking a closer look at the potential impact of a sale of Warner Brothers Discovery on theater chains. We'll get the reaction from Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos at 12.30 p.m. Eastern right here on Bloomberg. Okay. Let's get to the top story. OpenAI is close to finalizing the first phase of new funding that could bring in more than $100 billion. According to sources, that could boost its valuation to $850 billion post-money.
The first round of strategic investors include AI heavy hitters, Amazon, SoftBank, NVIDIA, And Microsoft, and overnight when we broke this story in Japan trading, SoftBank jumped as much as 4% and the up closing down, up, sorry, 2.6%. I think the US ADRs are actually a little softer. Team effort, but led the way by Bloomberg's Shireen Ghaffari, who's been tracking this story for a little while now. I think let's get into the details, right? It isn't that straightforward to understand. So let's call it phase one, the strategic investors. What do we need to know?
So phase one are the major companies that are gonna be partners investors in OpenAI. So names like Amazon, which as we've reported could invest up to 50 billion, SoftBank up to 30. You also have Microsoft, Nvidia and others. So that is the first kind of part of this round, securing those allocations and that could come as soon as the end of this month. Then they'll move on to the VC, sovereign wealth funds and other financial investors.
Yeah, I think the sources I've been speaking to in that next bucket, the sovereigns, the venture capitalists, there's probably a line around the corner, so to speak, of people who want an allocation here. There's some interesting detail that I want to get to with you. So like Amazon, for example, a first time investment at that scale, super interesting. But also there's some kind of technology agreement as part of this, right?
That's right. So part of the deal, as we reported, is that this will involve an expansion of OpenAI's partnership with Amazon on using their cloud compute to run OpenAI's products, as well as the chips, the Amazon Tranium chips to be used in OpenAI's development.
I think it's also important to be sort of transparent with the audience. These numbers have moved around a little bit. Right. And so particularly like some of our reporting on what the pre money valuation would be, how we're kind of getting to that post money valuation of $850 billion. Again, just give us the specifics that we need to know.
Sure, there have been a lot of numbers out there. And of course, with a deal this big that's been in talks for months, things kind of can shift.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–7:24
2
How is OpenAI structuring the first phase of a potential $100B funding round?
7:24–11:21
3
Which strategic investors and technology partnerships are involved in OpenAI's deal?
11:21–25:17
4
How would the $100B+ funding be used to expand OpenAI's compute and data‑center ambitions?
25:17–31:30
5
What are the implications of OpenAI partnering with Tata and other global enterprise deals?
31:30–40:34
6
How could the AI infrastructure build‑out affect energy demand, grids and utility costs?
40:34–46:40
Speakers
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