SEATTLE, Washington: OpenAI has struck a US$38 billion deal with Amazon to secure massive computing power for its artificial intelligence models, deepening its ties with another U.S. tech giant just days after reshaping its relationship with Microsoft.

The agreement will allow OpenAI to run its AI systems, including ChatGPT, on Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure in the U.S., tapping into "hundreds of thousands" of Nvidia AI chips housed in Amazon's data centers. Amazon's shares jumped four percent after the news.

The partnership comes as OpenAI races to meet skyrocketing demand for computing capacity to train and operate increasingly complex AI systems. It also marks another shift in the company's cloud strategy after regulators last week cleared it to move ahead with a new for-profit corporate structure, replacing its original nonprofit framework to raise capital more easily.

"The rapid advancement of AI technology has created unprecedented demand for computing power," Amazon said in a statement. It added that OpenAI would begin using AWS "immediately," with all initial capacity expected to be online by the end of 2026 and options to expand through 2027 and beyond.

The deal effectively makes Amazon one of OpenAI's most critical infrastructure partners, a role previously dominated by Microsoft, which until this year was the startup's exclusive cloud provider. OpenAI's rebalanced alliances suggest a push to diversify its technical backbone amid mounting global competition in generative AI.

For Amazon, the partnership strengthens its standing in the AI infrastructure race. It already supports other high-profile clients such as Anthropic, the creator of the Claude chatbot. It also signals that AWS — the world's largest cloud platform — intends to remain at the center of the AI boom by locking in long-term contracts with top developers.

AI systems require enormous computing power and energy, particularly for training large language models. OpenAI has committed more than $1 trillion in future infrastructure spending, spanning partnerships with Oracle, SoftBank, and chipmakers Nvidia, AMD, and Broadcom.

Those massive obligations have prompted skepticism among some investors, who worry about OpenAI's ability to pay for such projects before achieving consistent profitability. The company's CEO, Sam Altman, brushed off the concerns last week, calling them overblown.

"Revenue is growing steeply. We are taking a forward bet that it's going to continue to grow," Altman said on a podcast alongside Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.