OpenAI Invests $11.9 Billion in CoreWeave Ahead of IPO

OpenAI, closely linked with Microsoft, has announced a substantial investment in the startup CoreWeave, amounting to $11.9 billion. This strategic move comes as CoreWeave prepares for its Initial Public Offering (IPO).

A significant portion of the funding--approximately 97%--will be allocated to hardware purchases. CoreWeave specializes in cloud computing services for training and executing artificial intelligence models, predominantly utilizing Nvidia's GPU accelerators. OpenAI intends to leverage these systems for the advancement and operational deployment of its AI technologies.

The remaining $350 million from the investment will allow OpenAI to acquire equity in CoreWeave as part of the upcoming IPO. However, details regarding the specific shareholding percentage have not been disclosed. Reports suggest that CoreWeave is aiming for a market valuation of around $35 billion at the time of its public offering.

CoreWeave's registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) highlights the deep ties between Microsoft and CoreWeave. In the previous year, CoreWeave derived 62% of its total revenue from Microsoft, amounting to nearly $1.2 billion out of a total revenue of approximately $1.9 billion. Other clients contributed less than 10% to CoreWeave's overall sales.

In 2024, CoreWeave's revenue increased dramatically, skyrocketing more than eightfold compared to $229,000 in 2023. Despite this growth, the startup has yet to achieve profitability, reporting net losses of around $594,000 in 2023 and exceeding $863,000 in 2024.

The timeline for the disbursement of OpenAI's investment remains uncertain, but the announcement alone is expected to positively influence CoreWeave's IPO prospects. Previously, OpenAI primarily utilized servers provided by Microsoft, which is also a major investor in OpenAI.