Friendship Over With Microsoft? Nvidia’s $100B Deal Reveals 5 Signals into OpenAI’s Future

When OpenAI and Nvidia announced their strategic partnership on Monday, it immediately turned heads in Silicon Valley. The commotion was not due to the size of the deal or what was being offered to either entity, but rather what it could mean for the artificial intelligence (AI) landscape in the near future. The implications of the partnership are many; however, one thing it has clearly indicated is that OpenAI is now preparing for a future where its reliance on Microsoft will be a thing of the past. Here are the five things you should know.

Five Things to Know About the OpenAI-Nvidia Partnership

1. What is the OpenAI-Nvidia Deal? On Monday, Nvidia announced that a letter of intent for a strategic partnership with OpenAI was signed. As part of this collaboration, the chipmaker will deploy “at least 10GW of Nvidia systems for OpenAI's next-generation AI infrastructure to train and run its next generation of models on the path to deploying superintelligence.”

Nvidia also committed to investing up to $100 billion (roughly Rs. 8.8 lakh crore) to help OpenAI set up new AI data centres. The first phase of this plan is expected to be launched in the second half of 2026, and Nvidia's Vera Rubin platform will power the data centres.

2. What does it mean for OpenAI's partnership with Microsoft? Earlier this month, OpenAI and Microsoft signed a cryptic non-binding agreement where no details were disclosed to the public. However, a subsequent announcement by the ChatGPT maker made it clear that the agreement finally allowed it to convert the for-profit arm into a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC).

Multiple reports have claimed that OpenAI and Microsoft were at loggerheads due to OpenAI's decision to go public. The Windows maker reportedly felt that the move would take away all the exclusivity and financial benefits tied to their original $13 billion (roughly Rs. 1.1 lakh crore) investment agreement, and opposed the move, effectively bringing the IPO plans to a halt. It is said that the Sam Altman-led AI startup even considered going public and accusing Microsoft of anticompetitive behaviour.

While neither party took the aggressive route and eventually came to an agreement, many in the Silicon Valley feel that the relationship between the two is beyond repair.

3. What can the end-consumers expect? Over the last few months, many users have questioned OpenAI's product decisions. The company first took away the GPT-4o, GPT-4.1, and o3 models after launching GPT-5, and later also suggested removing the standard voice mode. While it eventually brought them all back, it highlighted that OpenAI was struggling to meet the compute requirements to provide all of the AI services.

The same was observed in Altman's latest post on X (formerly known as Twitter), where he highlighted that future AI products and features might be reserved for the Pro subscribers or could charge users an additional amount.

OpenAI's compute struggles could finally be over with the Nvidia deal, which will allow it to expand its AI infrastructure and easily power the AI services. A similar deal with Oracle should also help. As a result, end consumers can expect higher rate limits, more features to the Plus and free tiers, and faster deployments of new features.

4. What about OpenAI's for-profit direction? The PBC creation now allows OpenAI to remove the 100X return cap placed on investments. It also allows the entity to make commercial investments to generate revenue, all while being under the control of the non-profit entity. It is likely that the Nvidia and Oracle deals will witness investment into the for-profit entity instead of the non-profit.

5. How can the decision impact the world? The provision to generate more revenue and focus on making investors' money has been criticised by some, with the most vocal voice being Elon Musk, who accused Altman of moving OpenAI away from its original charter. The creation of the PBC might make OpenAI less of a “do good for humanity” company, but it will enable it to move faster towards the path of artificial general intelligence (AGI). When that happens, OpenAI's decision to choose public welfare or its self-interest could very well decide the future of the world.