Nvidia’s Doubts About OpenAI Are a Warning for Microsoft

In an industry numb to eye-watering AI bets, it takes a lot to make a chief executive hesitate. So Nvidia’s Jensen Huang blinking at one such commitment to OpenAI is worthy of notice. According to the Wall Street Journal, the chief executive officer of Nvidia Corp. has been telling industry associates that his $100 billion investment in the ChatGPT maker announced last year was actually nonbinding. He also reportedly privately criticized the company’s lack of business discipline.

It now looks as though Huang’s planned investment, originally tied to an infrastructure build-out,1 will manifest as a smaller bet in the tens of billions as part of OpenAI’s current fundraising efforts ahead of a potential initial public offering. (OpenAI is said to be in discussions with Nvidia, Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. to raise roughly $100 billion in capital, separate from the proposed infrastructure deal with Nvidia).