OpenAI raises $110 billion led by Amazon, Nvidia, and SoftBank

In short: OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, announced a $110 billion funding round that could grow if more investors join.

What happened

OpenAI said on February 27, 2026 that it raised $110 billion in a new funding round. The deal values OpenAI at $730 billion before the new money is added, which implies a value above $840 billion after the round.

OpenAI’s main backers in this round are Amazon with $50 billion, Nvidia with $30 billion, and SoftBank with $30 billion. OpenAI said some of this support is not straight cash. Part of it is services, such as access to large amounts of computing power, which is the expensive hardware and electricity needed to run and train AI systems (like renting a huge factory instead of buying one).

The round is still open, meaning other investors can still join. CFO Sarah Friar said in a CNBC interview that the total could reach about $120 billion. She also said $35 billion of Amazon’s amount depends on hitting milestones, such as reaching AGI (a term for AI that can do most tasks a human can) or an IPO, which is when a company starts selling shares to the public.

OpenAI said the money will help it scale services for more than 900 million weekly ChatGPT users, including over 50 million subscribers, and millions of business users. The company is also testing ads in the free version of ChatGPT as it looks for ways to improve profits.

Why it matters

This is another sign that building and running AI at ChatGPT’s size is extremely expensive, and that big tech companies are betting heavily on being the ones that provide the computers and money behind it.

Source: Financial Times