AI startup Thinking Machines Lab has entered a multi-year partnership with Nvidia, securing a significant investment and the procurement of at least one gigawatt of Nvidia's next-generation processors. The computing power, valued in the tens of billions of dollars, will be used to train AI models, helping the startup compete with larger rivals.
The deal underscores the industry's intense focus on scaling computing capacity and highlights Nvidia's expanding role as a financier for AI companies that depend on its chips. Thinking Machines, already valued at $12 billion, is simultaneously seeking a new funding round targeting a valuation of tens of billions.
The article also notes the fierce competition for AI talent, citing the departure of two Thinking Machines co-founders back to OpenAI.
Main topics: Partnership between Thinking Machines and Nvidia; scale and cost of computing power; AI industry competition and financing; talent competition in AI.
AI startup Thinking Machines Lab said on Tuesday it has struck a multi-year partnership with Nvidia that will see it receive a significant investment and procure at least one gigawatt of the chipmaker's next-generation processors.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Under the agreement, Thinking Machines - founded last year by former OpenAI âChief Technology â Officer â Mira Murati - will deploy Nvidia's upcoming Vera Rubin systems starting early next year. The computing power will primarily be used to train the startup's artificial intelligence models.
Industry executives have said â1 gigawatt of computing power, enough to power roughly 750,000 U.S. homes, can cost around $50 billion.
The deal will help Thinking Machines compete with larger rivals âin building powerful AI systems, and underscores â the industry's eagerness âto scale computing capacity.
Thinking Machines quickly became one âof Silicon âValley's most closely watched AI startups after raising about $2 billion in â a seed funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz âthat valued the company at $12 billion. Nvidia was also an âinvestor in the round.
The startup has recently been seeking to raise more in a new funding round that could value it at tens of billions of dollars, sources told Reuters earlier.
The company has recently seen several departures, including co-founder and former Chief Technology Officer Barret Zoph and co-founder âLuke Metz, who both returned to their former employer OpenAI amid fierce competition for AI talent.
The partnership also highlights âNvidia's growing ârole as a financier â of the startups that rely on its AI chips.
It has made a recent $30 billion investment in OpenAI and invested $10 billion in Anthropic, while also supplying âthe graphics processing units (GPUs) used to train and run their models, a dynamic that some industry analysts say creates a circular flow of capital and computing resources. That in turn has given rise to comparisons with the late 1990s tech bubble.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Under the agreement, Thinking Machines - founded last year by former OpenAI âChief Technology â Officer â Mira Murati - will deploy Nvidia's upcoming Vera Rubin systems starting early next year. The computing power will primarily be used to train the startup's artificial intelligence models.
Industry executives have said â1 gigawatt of computing power, enough to power roughly 750,000 U.S. homes, can cost around $50 billion.
The deal will help Thinking Machines compete with larger rivals âin building powerful AI systems, and underscores â the industry's eagerness âto scale computing capacity.
Thinking Machines quickly became one âof Silicon âValley's most closely watched AI startups after raising about $2 billion in â a seed funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz âthat valued the company at $12 billion. Nvidia was also an âinvestor in the round.
The startup has recently been seeking to raise more in a new funding round that could value it at tens of billions of dollars, sources told Reuters earlier.
The company has recently seen several departures, including co-founder and former Chief Technology Officer Barret Zoph and co-founder âLuke Metz, who both returned to their former employer OpenAI amid fierce competition for AI talent.
The partnership also highlights âNvidia's growing ârole as a financier â of the startups that rely on its AI chips.
It has made a recent $30 billion investment in OpenAI and invested $10 billion in Anthropic, while also supplying âthe graphics processing units (GPUs) used to train and run their models, a dynamic that some industry analysts say creates a circular flow of capital and computing resources. That in turn has given rise to comparisons with the late 1990s tech bubble.
Meridiano
