NVIDIA will invest up to $2 billion in xAI, Elon Musk’s AI company (Grok), as part of a mega-round totaling $20 billion including equity and debt. The structure involves a special purpose vehicle (SPV) that will purchase GPUs from NVIDIA and rent them to xAI over five years to accelerate the deployment of the Colossus 2 supercomputer. This move comes 48 hours after OpenAI and AMD announced a multi-year agreement to deploy 6 GW of Instinct GPUs —with a first gigawatt in the 2nd half of 2026— and a financial option that would give OpenAI up to 10% of AMD’s capital at $0.01 per share, conditioned on supply milestones. Together, these operations reinforce a pattern: “capital + supply” alliances that fast-track infrastructure development and secure demand in a tense market.
xAI: capital, debt, and GPU leasing… with NVIDIA on the other side of the table
According to Bloomberg and Reuters, xAI raises its target to $20 billion (approximately $7.5 billion in equity and up to $12.5 billion in debt). NVIDIA would provide up to $2 billion in equity; debt participants include Apollo Global Management and Diameter Capital, among others. The key aspect of the scheme: an SPV purchases NVIDIA chips and leases them to xAI for five years, allowing investors to recover their capital via leasing income and enabling the startup not to fully carry the asset on its balance sheet. The operational goal is straightforward: accelerate Colossus 2 (Memphis) and secure GPU access amid high demand and bottlenecks.
This type of financing blends hardware-backed collateralized debt and provider participation, which some analysts describe as “circular financing”: the manufacturer invests in the client that will buy (or lease) its chips. The obvious benefits include faster deployment, signals of trust, and anchored demand, though it also raises regulatory considerations regarding whether competition or pricing could be distorted.
AMD–OpenAI: 6 GW in phases and a conditional “equity kicker”
Meanwhile, OpenAI and AMD announced a multi-generational agreement: 6 GW for OpenAI’s upcoming infrastructure, with Instinct MI450 as the initial milestone (1 GW in 2H 2026). The distinctive aspect is not only the volume, but also the option for OpenAI to obtain up to 10% of AMD at $0.01 per share, tied to purchase/ delivery milestones. This is not an immediate 10% stake purchase but rather a warrant that unlocks in tranches as AMD executes its supply plan. The market interpretation: OpenAI diversifies beyond NVIDIA, and AMD secures a major customer with multi-year visibility.
What truly changes: three strategic consequences
- Secured demand and reduced execution risk
The packages combining equity + hardware-backed debt + leasing speed up deployment and send an early signal to the supply chain (foundries, HBM, OSAT). For NVIDIA, investing in xAI protects future sales; for AMD, the 6 GW with OpenAI justifies aggressive capex and roadmap planning. - Competitive rebalancing… if AMD delivers
If AMD meets deadlines and efficiency/watt targets with MI450 and successors, it gains market share in large-scale training and inference. Nonetheless, NVIDIA’s moat (CUDA, ecosystem, partners, tools) remains very high and is further reinforced by its capacity to structure financing such as xAI’s. - Energy and data centers: the real bottleneck
Talking about 6 GW involves data centers with substations, advanced cooling, and internal networks at hundreds of Tb/s. Several analysts point out that the limit is no longer just obtaining chips but also building and powering campuses at that scale.
Is this “vendor financing 2.0”? What regulators are watching
The parallel with vendor financing from the 2000s is in the air: when manufacturers inject capital or credit to close sales of their own products. What’s different now is that there are hyper-scalers and platforms with cash flows capable of absorbing such compute, but questions remain about ROI outside of core technology. Regulators will scrutinize conflicts of interest, leasing conditions, and market concentration.
What to watch for in the coming months
- xAI/NVIDIA: formal closing of the round, launch of Colossus 2, and terms of the SPV (timelines, guarantees, remaining hardware).
- AMD/OpenAI: details on ramp-up to 1 GW in 2026, timeline for subsequent phases, and delivery metrics to activate the stock option.
- Supply chain: HBM, advanced packaging, and data center capacity (power, grid). Banks and asset managers are likely to see more similar SPVs if this scheme works.
FAQ
Is NVIDIA “self-financing” with xAI?
Not exactly, but the SPV buys NVIDIA GPUs that it rents to xAI, while NVIDIA invests in the round. It’s a mutually dependent relationship that ensures demand and accelerates deployment.
Does OpenAI already hold 10% of AMD?
No. Reports mention a warrant/option that could<|vq_lbr_audio_93466|><|vq_lbr_audio_90542|><|vq_lbr_audio_757|><|vq_lbr_audio_125009|><|vq_lbr_audio_23553|><|vq_lbr_audio_12520|><|vq_lbr_audio_20657|><|vq_lbr_audio_36767|><|vq_lbr_audio_66082|><|vq_lbr_audio_57016|><|vq_lbr_audio_4982|><|vq_lbr_audio_125571|><|vq_lbr_audio_27101|><|vq_lbr_audio_19484|><|vq_lbr_audio_11390|><|vq_lbr_audio_98566|><|vq_lbr_audio_15138|><|vq_lbr_audio_90988|><|vq_lbr_audio_21994|><|vq_lbr_audio_96759|><|vq_lbr_audio_41665|><|vq_lbr_audio_128338|><|vq_lbr_audio_33513|><|vq_lbr_audio_10763|><|vq_lbr_audio_44936|><|vq_lbr_audio_92709|> decisions that would let OpenAI acquire up to 10% of AMD at $0.01 per share, conditioned on purchase/delivery milestones. It is not an immediate purchase of a 10% stake: instead, it’s a warrant that “unlocks” in stages as AMD<|vq_lbr_audio_96297|><|vq_lbr_audio_45820|><|vq_lbr_audio_7483|><|vq_lbr_audio_40317|><|vq_lbr_audio_106468|><|vq_lbr_audio_40686|><|vq_lbr_audio_93938|><|vq_lbr_audio_37607|><|vq_lbr_audio_97369|><|vq_lbr_audio_36354|><|vq_lbr_audio_44827|><|vq_lbr_audio_67403|><|vq_lbr_audio_107637|><|vq_lbr_audio_84404|><|vq_lbr_audio_64724|><|vq_lbr_audio_60683|><|vq_lbr_audio_42261|><|vq_lbr_audio_119380|><|vq_lbr_audio_87170|><|vq_lbr_audio_10700|><|vq_lbr_audio_13992|><|vq_lbr_audio_81037|><|vq_lbr_audio_84587|><|vq_lbr_audio_63073|><|vq_lbr_audio_87153|><|vq_lbr_audio_116915|><|vq_lbr_audio_45004|><|vq_lbr_audio_21276|><|vq_lbr_audio_8498|><|vq_lbr_audio_87734|><|vq_lbr_audio_44094|><|vq_lbr_audio_69337|><|vq_lbr_audio_32277|><|vq_lbr_audio_30075|><|vq_lbr_audio_55560|><|vq_lbr_audio_116554|><|vq_lbr_audio_50511|><|vq_lbr_audio_10450|><|vq_lbr_audio_129098|><|vq_lbr_audio_107106|><|vq_lbr_audio_8427|><|vq_lbr_audio_122291|><|vq_lbr_audio_36011|><|vq_lbr_audio_79599|><|vq_lbr_audio_54327|><|vq_lbr_audio_46410|><|vq_lbr_audio_84299|><|vq_lbr_audio_62119|><|vq_lbr_audio_78151|><|vq_lbr_audio_50980|><|vq_lbr_audio_129164|><|vq_lbr_audio_59293|><|vq_lbr_audio_15135|><|vq_lbr_audio_103693|><|vq_lbr_audio_104060|><|vq_lbr_audio_82051|><|vq_lbr_audio_38574|><|vq_lbr_audio_49307|><|vq_lbr_audio_31169|><|vq_lbr_audio_16247|><|vq_lbr_audio_53274|><|vq_lbr_audio_74572|><|vq_lbr_audio_47577|><|vq_lbr_audio_28029|><|vq_lbr_audio_47797|><|vq_lbr_audio_74243|><|vq_lbr_audio_88021|><|vq_lbr_audio_23505|><|vq_lbr_audio_119123|><|vq_lbr_audio_2046|><|vq_lbr_audio_98232|><|vq_lbr_audio_70531|><|vq_lbr_audio_80515|><|vq_lbr_audio_67944|><|vq_lbr_audio_128065|><|vq_lbr_audio_81329|><|vq_lbr_audio_35166|><|vq_lbr_audio_109172|><|vq_lbr_audio_3351|><|vq_lbr_audio_105410|><|vq_lbr_audio_75481|><|vq_lbr_audio_42825|><|vq_lbr_audio_92484|><|vq_lbr_audio_127558|><|vq_lbr_audio_78631|><|vq_lbr_audio_78631|><|vq_lbr_audio_72114|><|vq_lbr_audio_24507|><|vq_lbr_audio_130751|><|vq_lbr_audio_44217|><|vq_lbr_audio_85944|><|vq_lbr_audio_26841|><|vq_lbr_audio_82791|><|vq_lbr_audio_64065|><|vq_lbr_audio_126633|><|vq_lbr_audio_79389|><|vq_lbr_audio_64313|><|vq_lbr_audio_17436|><|vq_lbr_audio_68328|><|vq_lbr_audio_87484|><|vq_lbr_audio_125713|><|vq_lbr_audio_34221|><|vq_lbr_audio_15836|><|vq_lbr_audio_72017|><|vq_lbr_audio_117778|><|vq_lbr_audio_7087|><|vq_lbr_audio_106924|><|vq_lbr_audio_22743|><|vq_lbr_audio_38732|><|vq_lbr_audio_26185|><|vq_lbr_audio_6588|><|vq_lbr_audio_36998|><|vq_lbr_audio_17914|><|vq_lbr_audio_85849|><|vq_lbr_audio_75107|><|vq_lbr_audio_80949|><|vq_lbr_audio_45312|><|vq_lbr_audio_49476|><|vq_lbr_audio_42084|><|vq_lbr_audio_25576|><|vq_lbr_audio_27855|><|vq_lbr_audio_4380|><|vq_lbr_audio_20678|><|vq_lbr_audio_15355|><|vq_lbr_audio_53185|><|vq_lbr_audio_97369|><|vq_lbr_audio_17541|><|vq_lbr_audio_9624|><|vq_lbr_audio_91824|><|vq_lbr_audio_56680|><|vq_lbr_audio_10785|><|vq_lbr_audio_70169|><|vq_lbr_audio_42509|><|vq_lbr_audio_24503|><|vq_lbr_audio_80596|><|vq_lbr_audio_27541|><|vq_lbr_audio_120106|><|vq_lbr_audio_95992|><|vq_lbr_audio_67724|><|vq_lbr_audio_50531|><|vq_lbr_audio_62975|><|vq_lbr_audio_99369|><|vq_lbr_audio_68598|><|vq_lbr_audio_85151|><|vq_lbr_audio_130567|><|vq_lbr_audio_35577|><|vq_lbr_audio_10998|><|vq_lbr_audio_18433|><|vq_lbr_audio_36568|><|vq_lbr_audio_36541|><|vq_lbr_audio_54609|><|vq_lbr_audio_107048|><|vq_lbr_audio_12233|><|vq_lbr_audio_17224|><|vq_lbr_audio_36300|><|vq_lbr_audio_96365|><|vq_lbr_audio_129747|><|vq_lbr_audio_2249|><|vq_lbr_audio_30005|><|vq_lbr_audio_58112|><|vq_lbr_audio_62543|><|vq_lbr_audio_115168|><|vq_lbr_audio_83922|><|vq_lbr_audio_82951|><|vq_lbr_audio_96272|><|vq_lbr_audio_90626|><|vq_lbr_audio_64962|><|vq_lbr_audio_129111|><|vq_lbr_audio_5152|><|vq_lbr_audio_3523|><|vq_lbr_audio_130883|><|vq_lbr_audio_119984|><|vq_lbr_audio_1637|><|vq_lbr_audio_89899|><|vq_lbr_audio_45456|><|vq_lbr_audio_22189|><|vq_lbr_audio_87392|>bod up to 10% of AMD at $0.01 per share, conditioned on purchase/delivery milestones. It’s not an immediate 10% stake but rather a warrant that unlocks in stages as AMD
executes its supply plan. The market interpretation: OpenAI diversifies beyond NVIDIA, and AMD gains a major customer with multi-year visibility.