Nvidia CEO hints at end of investments in OpenAI, Anthropic

A sign to a Nvidia office building is shown in Santa Clara, Calif., Wednesday, May 31, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

Nvidia (NVDA.O) CEO Jensen Huang said the latest investments in OpenAI and Anthropic might be the chipmaker’s last in those companies, as the AI companies prepare to go public this year.

The opportunity to invest US$100 billion in OpenAI is probably not in the cards as the ChatGPT creator is set to go public later this year, Huang said at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom conference on Wednesday.

Nvidia and OpenAI had announced a $100 billion deal in September last year.

Nvidia has instead finalized a $30 billion investment in OpenAI, which might be the last time it has the opportunity to “invest in a consequential company like this,” Huang said.

OpenAI is laying the groundwork for an IPO that could value the company at up to $1 trillion, Reuters exclusively reported last year.

Nvidia’s $10 billion investment in Anthropic probably will be the last as well, Huang added. The startup is reportedly looking to go public this year.

Anthropic, which is embroiled in a dispute ​with the Pentagon, has said it has not finalized an IPO decision.

OpenAI and Anthropic did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

The Financial Times reported in February that Nvidia and OpenAI had abandoned their $100 billion deal amid doubts about the health of the AI sector. Some analysts had raised concerns about the circular arrangement, as the large investment in Anthropic would have made Nvidia a major investor in one of its biggest customers and the money it would pour into the startup was likely to be spent on its own AI processors.

(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)