Key Points
- OpenAI has signed a deal valued at over $10 billion to purchase computing power from Cerebras.
- The deal will provide OpenAI with 750 megawatts of power over three years.
- The goal is to make ChatGPT and other AI models respond much faster.
- Cerebras makes specialized “wafer-scale” chips that compete with Nvidia.
OpenAI is making another massive investment to stay ahead in the artificial intelligence race. The company announced on Wednesday that it will buy up to 750 megawatts of computing power from the chipmaker Cerebras over the next three years.
The deal, which is reportedly worth more than $10 billion, is a clear sign of the industry’s insatiable appetite for the raw power needed to train and run advanced AI models.
OpenAI plans to use Cerebras’s specialized systems to make its popular ChatGPT chatbot “respond much faster.” Cerebras is known for its unique “wafer-scale” chips, which are designed specifically to handle the massive calculations required for large AI models. This makes them a direct competitor to Nvidia, which currently dominates the AI chip market.
This deal is a big win for Cerebras, which has been looking to diversify its customer base. The company has been heavily reliant on a single tech firm in the UAE for much of its revenue. This new partnership with the biggest name in AI will give it a major boost as it reportedly prepares to go public later this year.
For OpenAI, this is just the latest in a string of multi-billion-dollar deals. CEO Sam Altman has said the company is committed to investing $1.4 trillion in developing its computing resources.
While the AI boom is creating significant excitement and sending valuations soaring, some experts are starting to worry that the industry might be heading for a bubble similar to the dot-com bust of the early 2000s. For now, though, the spending spree continues.
