Amazon Considering Investment of Over $10 Billion in OpenAI

Corporate Value Expected to Rise Over $500 Billion with Investment
Amazon's 'Trainium' Chip Sales Included as Investment Condition
OpenAI Aims to Diversify Chip Supply

Yonhap News Agency

Amazon is reportedly considering an investment of at least $10 billion (approximately 14.8 trillion won) in OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, according to the Financial Times (FT) on December 16 (local time). It was also reported that Amazon is considering selling its semiconductor chips to OpenAI as part of the investment conditions.

According to FT, Amazon is reviewing a proposal to sell its Trainium chips to OpenAI and to provide additional data center capacity for ChatGPT as part of the investment terms. If the investment is finalized, OpenAI's corporate value is expected to rise by more than $500 billion (approximately 740 trillion won).

This investment proposal has been discussed at a time when OpenAI is redefining its relationship with its initial investor, Microsoft (MS). In October, MS became OpenAI's largest shareholder (with about a 27% stake), but their partnership has shifted to a structure where they collaborate independently without management control.

As a result, OpenAI has been able to sign data center contracts with cloud providers competing with MS. After revising its agreement with MS, OpenAI immediately signed a seven-year server leasing contract with Amazon worth $38 billion (approximately 56.2 trillion won). Amazon's consideration of this investment is being discussed as part of this contract.

However, even if Amazon invests in OpenAI, Amazon Web Services (AWS) will not be able to sell OpenAI's models. This is because MS still retains the rights to sell OpenAI's models. Rather, the main purpose for OpenAI is to diversify the chips used for training AI models such as ChatGPT.

Amazon is also in discussions with OpenAI regarding commercial partnerships utilizing its online marketplace. OpenAI has a strong interest in the e-commerce sector. It is already partnering with companies such as Etsy, Shopify, and Instacart, and is exploring ways to generate new revenue streams.