Report: Amazon is negotiating an investment of up to $50 billion in OpenAI

According to media reports citing informed sources, Amazon is in talks with OpenAI to potentially invest up to $50 billion, which would be a significant bet on OpenAI. The Wall Street Journal previously reported that ChatGPT developer OpenAI is seeking to raise up to $100 billion in new funding from investors, which could value the company at up to $830 billion. As part of this funding round, SoftBank is also in discussions to invest up to $30 billion more in OpenAI, further increasing SoftBank's already substantial stake in the company. Reports indicate that Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is personally leading the negotiations with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. However, these sources also noted that if an agreement is reached, the specific details of the deal may change from what is currently known. If the investment amount reaches $50 billion, Amazon will become the largest investor in this funding round for OpenAI. At the same time, Amazon has also invested in OpenAI's competitor Anthropic and is building a $11 billion data center campus for the company in Indiana. On one hand, Amazon is making significant investments in AI infrastructure, while on the other hand, it is also cutting costs internally. On Wednesday, Amazon announced it would lay off about 16,000 corporate employees; last October, the company had already cut about 14,000 positions. Despite this, Amazon continues to increase its investment in AI, whether for customer-facing applications or for internal operations. OpenAI is evaluating a potential IPO and hopes to raise funds from sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East and other venture capital funds. Its existing investors include Thrive Capital, Khosla Ventures, and the UAE fund MGX