Despite widespread speculation that OpenAI has fallen behind Alphabet, the ChatGPT developer continues to attract heavyweight investors with remarkable ease. Last week, Disney invested $1 billion, and according to exclusive reports, Amazon is in advanced talks to inject over $10 billion into OpenAI—a deal likely to materialize soon. Additionally, OpenAI is reportedly discussing plans to raise up to $100 billion from select investors, signaling strong market confidence.
This funding spree widens the gap between OpenAI and other AI frontrunners. While Alphabet retains competitive strength through its lucrative ad business and cloud computing gains from AI services, and Anthropic thrives with backing from Amazon and Alphabet, uncertainty looms over Meta and xAI. Both lack clear monetization models to sustain their AI ambitions, potentially forcing them to eventually rely on external providers like OpenAI or Alphabet.
Amazon’s potential multibillion-dollar bet on OpenAI raises questions, especially given its existing partnership with Anthropic. The rationale appears straightforward: CEO Andy Jassy views OpenAI as a pivotal AI winner, warranting strategic alignment. Beyond financial returns, the investment could secure AWS more cloud contracts, integrate Amazon’s Trainium chips into OpenAI’s supply chain, and foster collaboration in shopping tech and agent development. Weakening Alphabet’s dominance would be an added bonus.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Discovery’s board rejected a $108 billion acquisition bid by Paramount-Skydance, citing concerns over Larry Ellison’s financing capacity. The deal required $41 billion in equity, which Ellison pledged to back—but not personally guarantee. WBD highlighted opacity around Ellison’s trust fund, which holds his 41% Oracle stake (now down 46% since September). The fund’s undisclosed liabilities and loan-collateralized shares further fueled skepticism.
In other news: - Amazon restructured its AI division, merging quantum computing and chip teams (including Trainium) under CEO Jassy’s direct oversight. - Coursera agreed to acquire Udemy for $950 million in stock, aiming to counter AI-driven disruption. - Blue Owl Capital exited Oracle’s $10 billion data center financing plan for OpenAI, triggering a 5.4% drop in Oracle shares. - AI agent platform Manus hit $125M annualized revenue, up from $90M in August. - Bitcoin miner Hut 8, linked to the Trump family, is building data centers to supply Anthropic with up to 2.3GW of computing power. - Tesla faces a potential 30-day sales suspension in California over misleading Autopilot marketing. - Micron surged 8% after posting Q1 revenue of $13.64B (up 57% YoY), beating forecasts, with accelerated growth expected next quarter. - YouTube secured global Oscars streaming rights from 2029, ending ABC’s long-held U.S. broadcast monopoly.
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