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CoreWeave, a fast-rising AI cloud provider backed by NVIDIA, has landed a massive $11.9 billion contract with OpenAI in a move that could significantly boost its upcoming initial public offering (IPO). The five-year deal, confirmed on Monday, will see CoreWeave provide AI infrastructure to OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT.
In return, OpenAI will receive $350 million in CoreWeave shares through a private placement linked to the startup’s upcoming IPO.
“Advanced AI systems require reliable compute, and we’re excited to continue scaling with CoreWeave so we can train even more powerful models and offer great services to even more users,” said OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in CoreWeave’s press release. “CoreWeave is an important addition to OpenAI’s infrastructure portfolio, complementing our commercial deals with Microsoft and Oracle, and our joint venture with Softbank on Stargate.”
What’s in it for CoreWeave?
A lot. This deal gives CoreWeave revenue as well as stability and a high-profile new customer when the startup needs it most. CoreWeave is aiming for a blockbuster IPO in 2025, targeting a valuation north of $35 billion, and having OpenAI in its corner makes that goal more realistic.
Founded in 2017, CoreWeave started as a crypto mining company but has since transformed into one of the top cloud infrastructure providers for AI. The company now runs 32 data centers and manages more than 250,000 NVIDIA GPUs. CoreWeave’s growth has been nothing short of explosive. In 2024 alone, it raked in $1.92 billion in revenue, a massive leap from $229 million in 2023. However, CoreWeave is burning through cash — its net loss widened to $863.4 million last year, up from $593.7 million the year before.
Is OpenAI looking beyond Microsoft?
This deal also adds an interesting twist to the story of Microsoft and OpenAI. Microsoft has long been OpenAI’s biggest backer and cloud provider, but cracks have been forming in that relationship.
CoreWeave’s biggest customer used to be Microsoft, which accounted for about two-thirds of CoreWeave’s revenue last year; now, OpenAI is jumping into a major deal with the same cloud provider. Some see this as OpenAI hedging its bets as it continues to chase more computing power. Last week, Altman publicly said OpenAI was running out of GPUs.
And Microsoft isn’t sitting still either. It’s reportedly developing its own family of AI models, separate from OpenAI’s. With both companies racing to dominate AI, the CoreWeave deal could signal a quiet pivot by OpenAI to gain more independence — both in infrastructure and strategic direction.
What’s next for CoreWeave?
CoreWeave’s IPO filing is already generating buzz. It has raised over $14.5 billion in equity and debt, across 12 financing rounds with heavyweight investors like Blackstone and Magnetar in the mix, according to Reuters. If the IPO is successful, CoreWeave could use the proceeds to pay down its debt and further expand its AI infrastructure.
As for OpenAI, the deal ensures a steady supply of computing muscle to keep building while also giving the company a seat at the table for one of the most talked about IPOs of 2025.
For more about OpenAI, read about the AI development tools it just unveiled.