AI cloud giant CoreWeave reaches a $11.9 billion contract with OpenAI.

According to sources, AI cloud computing provider CoreWeave has reached a five-year, $11.9 billion contract with OpenAI to provide services for the latter. The source also added that the deal has allowed OpenAI to acquire approximately $350 million worth of shares in CoreWeave. CoreWeave co-founder and CEO Michael Intrator stated, "Our collaboration with OpenAI demonstrates CoreWeave's ability to provide reliable, high-performance infrastructure services to leading AI labs around the world, showcasing our proven ability to drive AI innovation. We will continue to be the preferred partner to meet the cutting-edge needs of pioneers and unleash the potential of AI to change the world." OpenAI CEO Sam Altman commented, "Advanced AI systems require reliable computing power, and we are delighted to continue utilizing CoreWeave for expansion so that we can train more powerful models and provide high-quality services to more users." "CoreWeave is an important complement to OpenAI's infrastructure portfolio, in addition to our business deals with Microsoft Corporation and Oracle Corporation, as well as our joint venture with SoftBank in 'Stargate'." OpenAI has reached significant agreements with several tech companies. After a 14-month review process, the UK antitrust watchdog recently approved Microsoft Corporation's $13 billion investment in OpenAI. According to a filing submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Microsoft Corporation is one of CoreWeave's two major clients in 2024, contributing nearly two-thirds of its total revenue. CoreWeave files for IPO On March 3, CoreWeave submitted its initial public offering (IPO) prospectus, applying to list on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol "CRWV". Sources revealed that the company plans to publicly file for an IPO in the US within a week, aiming to raise approximately $4 billion through the listing, with a valuation target exceeding $35 billion. This move signifies that it will be one of the largest IPOs in the AI computing power sector in recent years. As the demand for AI computing power surged in 2020, CoreWeave began offering cloud-based GPU rental services based on NVIDIA Corporation GPUs, catering to scenarios such as machine learning and deep learning. Data shows that CoreWeave's revenue reached $1.9 billion in 2024, with a year-on-year growth of over 700%, but a net loss of $863 million, accumulating a total loss of $1.5 billion (mainly due to significant investments in AI infrastructure, such as GPU procurement). However, investors are discussing how long CoreWeave's growth can be sustained, especially if major clients like Microsoft Corporation and Meta reduce their dependence on external cloud service providers, which could impact CoreWeave. CoreWeave also acknowledges that it competes with cloud providers such as Microsoft Corporation's Azure and Amazon.com, Inc.'s AWS. Last week, reports surfaced that Microsoft Corporation abandoned some contracts with CoreWeave due to delivery issues and missing deadlines, but CoreWeave later denied these reports. CoreWeave is also known for its close relationship with NVIDIA Corporation. As one of the earliest adopters of NVIDIA Corporation GPUs on a large scale, CoreWeave stockpiled a large number of NVIDIA Corporation GPUs before the emergence of large models. Backed by NVIDIA Corporation, the company rapidly developed in the AI computing power sector through strategies such as enjoying priority supply of NVIDIA Corporation's H100/H200 and Blackwell architecture GPUs and deep binding with them, attracting the favor of major companies.