ChatGPT developer OpenAI is tapping into Amazon’s data centers in search of more computing power for its AI. The deal, worth a total of $38 billion, grants OpenAI access to “hundreds of thousands” of chip systems from the chip company Nvidia that are tailored to the operation of artificial intelligence for an initial period of seven years.
According to OpenAI, ChatGPT recently had around 800 million users per week. Company boss Sam Altman has plans for massive data centers to be built together with partners. For this purpose, an agreement worth $300 billion was concluded with the software company Oracle. OpenAI also wants to purchase computing power from investor Microsoft for $250 billion over the years.
Arms race in AI computing power
A real arms race has broken out among AI developers: Google and the Facebook group Meta are also investing tens of billions of dollars a year to expand computer performance. The huge expenditure has already sparked fears of an AI bubble – amid doubts about whether the money can be earned back.
Amazon also wants to establish itself as a service provider for the AI era with its cloud division AWS, which already supplies many companies with computing power. The world’s largest online retailer is also a major backer of OpenAI competitor Anthropic.