OpenAI is discussing the possibility of renting artificial intelligence chips from Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) to reduce costs associated with the massive new data center partnership between the two companies, according to The Information.
OpenAI could save 10% to 15% by leasing the server chips rather than buying them outright, the report said, citing people familiar with the situation. Renting the GPUs means OpenAI could avoid fundraising for the purchases, and the ChatGPT maker could receive the chips sooner. The Sam Altman-led company already rents Nvidia chips from cloud service providers Microsoft (MSFT) and Oracle (ORCL).
A leasing agreement could also minimize risks for Nvidia, the report added. Any leasing agreement would likely extend for five years, which is similar to current lease agreements OpenAI has with Oracle.
The new possible leasing agreement stems from Monday’s announcement that Nvidia intends to invest up to $100B in Microsoft-backed OpenAI progressively to build and deploy at least 10 gigawatts of AI data centers with Nvidia systems.
The first phase is targeted to come online in the second half of 2026 using Nvidia’s Vera Rubin platform.
Altman discussed the 10-gigawatt project in a blog post on Tuesday, highlighting how it could change the world and require some new financing techniques.
“Maybe with 10 gigawatts of compute, AI can figure out how to cure cancer,” Altman noted. “Or with 10 gigawatts of compute, AI can figure out how to provide customized tutoring to every student on earth. If we are limited by compute, we’ll have to choose which one to prioritize; no one wants to make that choice, so let’s go build.”
He said he eventually envisions creating a factory that can produce 1 gigawatt of new AI infrastructure every week.
“Over the next couple of months, we’ll be talking about some of our plans and the partners we are working with to make this a reality,” Altman added. “Later this year, we’ll talk about how we are financing it; given how increasing compute is the literal key to increasing revenue, we have some interesting new ideas.”