After 30,000 layoffs, Amazon makes big investment in OpenAI and calls it AI winner
India Today
Amazon has announced a massive $50 billion investment in OpenAI, making it the largest single backer in the company's latest $110 billion funding round. As part of the deal, the e-commerce and cloud giant will deepen its AI collaboration with OpenAI, expanding cloud infrastructure and developing new AI models.
Amazon is investing $50 billion in OpenAI as part of its latest multi-year strategic partnership to build next-generation artificial intelligence infrastructure and enterprise tools. The deal also positions Amazon as the largest backer in OpenAI’s latest $110 billion funding round, which includes a $30 billion investment from SoftBank, $30 billion from Nvidia.
Amazon will be investing in OpenAI in phases, beginning with an initial $15 billion infusion, followed by a further $35 billion subject to certain conditions. The announcement comes just weeks after Amazon completed 30,000 layoffs across multiple divisions, in a strategic shift aimed at reducing bureaucracy, flattening organisational structures, and reallocating resources towards Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The latest funding round, which includes big backers like Amazon, SoftBank and Nvidia, reportedly values OpenAI at a pre-money valuation of $730 billion, a sharp rise from its $300 billion valuation in March 2025. This jump in investment also makes the raise one of the largest private technology funding rounds to date, with other major backers including Nvidia and SoftBank, each pledging $30 billion.
While announcing the partnership, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy praised OpenAI as a highly talented team with strong products, adding that he sees it emerging as one of the big winners in the AI race.
“We’re excited about our investment in OpenAI — it’s an extremely talented team with great products, IP, and vision for how they can continue to serve customers and enterprises. We think they’ll be one of the big winners in AI, we can help them grow, and we believe we’ll earn a strong return for Amazon over the long term,” he wrote on X.
The partnership between OpenAI and Amazon is not just about handing over the capital.
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