Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang: $100B OpenAI Deal ‘Probably Not in the Cards’

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By William Temple Published

Quick Read

  • Nvidia (NVDA) invested $30B in OpenAI and $10B in Anthropic, down from $100B. Amazon (AMZN) contributed $50B and SoftBank (SFTBY) $30B to OpenAI’s $110B round. Nvidia trades at $183.04, target $264.25.

  • OpenAI’s pending IPO forced Nvidia to finalize a $30B investment, treating the pre-IPO window as a final opportunity for strategic positioning with key AI customers.

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Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang: $100B OpenAI Deal ‘Probably Not in the Cards’

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Jensen Huang just drew a line in the sand on how far Nvidia is willing to go with OpenAI, and the number is a lot smaller than what was floated just a few months ago.

Speaking at the Morgan Stanley tech conference, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA | NVDA Price Prediction) CEO Jensen Huang was direct about the company’s investment ceiling: “The opportunity to invest $100 billion in OpenAI is probably not in the cards.” Instead, $30 billion is likely as far as Nvidia goes when it comes to investing in OpenAI.

The reason is straightforward: the IPO clock is ticking. OpenAI is heading toward an IPO, potentially by year end, which would close the window on private investment at that scale. Huang called this “the last time Nvidia will have the chance to invest in a company like it.” Once OpenAI goes public, the dynamics of investing change entirely. You can buy shares on the open market, but you lose the ability to negotiate the kind of strategic, relationship-deepening private placement that a $30 billion commitment represents.

This also resolves some lingering uncertainty. Reports earlier in 2026 suggested the original $100 billion OpenAI deal had stalled, first discussed publicly back in November 2025. Today’s comments suggest the two sides have settled on a cleaner structure at the $30 billion level, which aligns with the Reddit thread that noted OpenAI closed a $110 billion funding round with backing from Amazon ($50B), Nvidia ($30B), and SoftBank ($30B).

The Anthropic story runs parallel. Huang said Nvidia’s $10 billion bet on Anthropic will probably be its last investment there as well, also ahead of an expected IPO. The pattern is clear: Nvidia is treating these pre-IPO windows as once-in-a-generation opportunities, and it’s not going to chase them indefinitely.

What does this tell us about Nvidia’s broader strategy? The company isn’t trying to become a venture fund. It’s making strategic anchor investments in the AI companies most likely to drive massive future GPU demand. OpenAI and Anthropic aren’t just portfolio bets, they’re customers, partners, and validation of Nvidia’s entire infrastructure thesis.

And that infrastructure is performing. Data Center revenue hit $62.31 billion in Q4 FY2026, up 75% year-over-year, with full-year revenue reaching $215.94 billion. Nvidia already has a strategic partnership with OpenAI to deploy at least 10 gigawatts of Nvidia systems for next-generation AI infrastructure. The investment is almost secondary to the commercial relationship already locked in.

The stock is trading at $183.04, with analysts carrying a consensus target of $264.25 and 47 buy ratings against just one sell. The $100 billion deal may be off the table, but the underlying story, Nvidia as the backbone of the AI economy, hasn’t changed one bit.

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About the Author William Temple →

I write to invest, and I invest to spend more time with nature. Usually all at the same time. I'm a retired equities guy who saw a recession or four, and lives for what comes out of the other side of them.

I cover stocks across the board cause even though I feel like I've seen it all, there's always another way out there to make, and lose money. I want to help you do more of the former, and none of the latter. Making money with friends is my oxygen.

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