OpenAI has launched a funding round to raise $110bn, which would value the AI firm at $730bn pre-money, or $840bn fully diluted.

The round includes investments from Amazon, Nvidia and SoftBank, and is expected to conclude ahead of OpenAI’s anticipated public listing later this year.

Amazon is leading with a total investment of $50bn, starting with $15bn and planning an additional $35bn subject to certain conditions. Nvidia and SoftBank are each investing $30bn.

As part of its agreement with Amazon, OpenAI will use two gigawatts (GW) of computing capacity powered by Amazon’s Trainium chips.

In addition, Amazon Web Services (AWS) will become the exclusive third-party cloud provider for OpenAI Frontier, the enterprise platform for developing and managing AI agents.

These arrangements do not alter OpenAI’s current partnership with Microsoft, which remains the exclusive cloud provider for OpenAI APIs and hosts the company’s first-party products on Azure.

SoftBank Group announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to make follow-on investments in OpenAI through its Vision Fund 2.

Upon completion, SoftBank expects its cumulative investment in OpenAI to reach $64.6bn, representing roughly a 13% stake in the company.

The latest investment is subject to customary closing conditions and will be initially financed through bridge loans, with future financing secured through existing assets and other measures.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said: “We continue to push the frontier across AI infrastructure, research, and products. SoftBank is the perfect long-term partner to help us maximise the benefits of AI for people at global scale.”

The valuation from this round increases the value of the OpenAI Foundation’s stake in OpenAI Group to over $180bn.

In SoftBank’s consolidated financial statements, shares in OpenAI will be classified as financial assets measured at fair value through profit or loss.

SoftBank Group chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son said: “OpenAI is a clear leader, with world-class technology and an unparalleled global user base, and we have strong conviction in its continued growth.

“Through this additional investment, we will accelerate OpenAI’s research and ecosystem expansion, while advancing our own ASI strategy.”

Nvidia’s investment follows an earlier commitment to provide up to $100bn to OpenAI, though it is unclear if this latest funding replaces that previous pledge.

Neither company has yet commented on whether these commitments overlap.

OpenAI states that demand for its AI products continues to grow among consumers, developers, and enterprises.

The company reports over 900 million weekly active users for ChatGPT and more than nine million paying business users utilising its services.

Codex usage has also risen significantly since the start of the year.

The partnerships with Amazon and Nvidia are planned to expand infrastructure capacity as OpenAI aims to meet global demand for advanced AI applications.

The latest funding round is expected to further strengthen OpenAI’s balance sheet as it prepares for broader deployment of frontier AI models.