OpenAI and Oracle reportedly ink historic cloud computing deal (techcrunch.com)

OpenAI has reportedly signed a landmark cloud computing deal with Oracle to purchase $300 billion worth of compute power over the next five years, starting in 2027. If confirmed, this would rank among the largest cloud contracts ever, signaling OpenAI’s escalating demand for massive computational resources necessary to train and deploy advanced AI models. This deal marks a significant diversification in OpenAI’s cloud strategy, moving further away from its prior reliance on Microsoft Azure. The partnership builds on OpenAI’s existing relationship with Oracle, which began in mid-2024, coinciding with OpenAI’s participation in the Stargate Project—a $500 billion investment initiative alongside Oracle and SoftBank aimed at expanding domestic data center infrastructure over four years. This shift highlights the growing competition and high stakes among major cloud providers to support AI innovation. In addition to this Oracle deal, OpenAI reportedly secured cloud capacity from Google earlier this year, underscoring the company's need to leverage multiple cloud ecosystems despite the tech rivals’ broader AI rivalry. For the AI/ML community, this development underscores the critical importance of scalable, affordable compute power to fuel next-generation AI breakthroughs. It also signals a broader industry trend where cloud providers are aggressively competing to become the backbone of AI infrastructure, with massive multi-billion-dollar contracts reflecting AI’s central role in the future of computing.