Sam Altman, chief executive officer of OpenAI Inc., at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, India, on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026.
Nvidia is in discussions to invest up to $30 billion in OpenAI as part of a funding round that could value the artificial intelligence startup at a $730 billion pre-money valuation, CNBC has confirmed.
The investment is separate from the $100 billion infrastructure agreement that OpenAI and Nvidia announced in September, according to a source familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the discussions are confidential. The $30 billion is not tied to any deployment milestones, the person said.
The September announcement, which rocked the tech sector and sparked a flurry of subsequent infrastructure deals, outlined a structure where Nvidia would invest in OpenAI over several years as it brought new supercomputing facilities online. A source told CNBC at the time that Nvidia's first investment of $10 billion would be deployed when its first gigawatt was completed.
Nvidia's $30 billion investment in OpenAI is different from what was contemplated in September, but the company could still decide to invest in subsequent rounds that align with that framework, the person said.
The $30 deal is not final and the details are still subject to change, the person said. The Financial Times was first to report the potential investment.
Nvidia declined to comment.
Questions about the status of OpenAI and Nvidia's $100 billion infrastructure agreement have been swirling in recent months, particularly after the Wall Street Journal reported in January that the deal was "on ice."