Pledge to invest $100 billion in OpenAI was ‘never a commitment,’ says Nvidia’s Huang

Nvidia Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang said the company’s proposed $100 billion investment in OpenAI was “never a commitment” and that the company would consider any funding rounds “one at a time.”  

“It was never a commitment,” Huang told reporters in Taipei on Sunday. “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.”

As part of a letter of intent signed in September, Nvidia said it planned to invest as much as $100 billion in OpenAI to support new data centers and other artificial intelligence infrastructure. The deal was designed to help OpenAI build data centers with a capacity of at least 10 gigawatts of power — equivalent to the peak electricity demand of New York City — equipped with Nvidia’s advanced chips to train and deploy AI models. 

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that the investment plan announced in September had stalled after some inside Nvidia expressed doubts about the deal. Citing unidentified people familiar with the matter, the Journal reported that Huang had privately emphasized that the $100 billion agreement was nonbinding, had privately criticized what he has described as a lack of discipline in OpenAI’s business approach and expressed concern about competition.  

When asked on Saturday about the report that seemed to suggest he wasn’t very happy with OpenAI, Huang said, “That’s nonsense.” 

“We will invest a great deal of money,” Huang told reporters then. “I believe in OpenAI. The work that they do is incredible. They’re one of the most consequential companies of our time.” 

Huang didn’t say exactly how much the company might contribute but described the investment as “huge” and potentially “the largest investment we’ve ever made.” He added that Nvidia’s contribution to OpenAI’s current funding round wouldn’t approach $100 billion.

When asked about whether the companies’ plan to deploy the first gigawatt under their joint investment plan is on schedule, Huang said on Sunday that “it’s up to OpenAI.”  

“It’s their infrastructure,” he told reporters. 

Nvidia’s plans to invest in OpenAI, a key buyer of its advanced AI chips, have stoked concerns about the circular nature of AI deals over the past year. Investors are increasingly questioning how these partnerships — in which tech companies are investing in AI businesses that purchase their products — may be artificially propping up demand. In a separate such deal, Nvidia recently announced plans to invest an additional $2 billion in CoreWeave Inc., a cloud computing provider that’s also a key customer. 

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com