AI’s Dealmaking Frenzy

AI’s insatiable need for cash is proving to be a dream for dealmakers. Our scoop from Wednesday night that OpenAI was in talks to raise as much as $60 billion from Nvidia, Microsoft and Amazon was followed by a Wall Street Journal report today that Amazon alone might put in $50 billion. Meanwhile, Reuters reported on Thursday that Elon Musk was contemplating merging xAI and SpaceX ahead of an expected SpaceX IPO. Such a combination could make it easier for him to meet xAI’s massive cash needs—and it could make the SpaceX IPO appeal to a broader range of investors.

There’s no guarantee any of these deals will happen, although there’s a logic to the SpaceX-xAI combination that’s hard to ignore (see our prediction for 2026 that xAI would merge with one of Musk’s other companies). As for the OpenAI fundraising, given the proliferation of reports over the past couple of weeks about who might put in money (SoftBank is supposedly in for $30 billion), you might think someone is trying to fuel the equivalent of a bidding war between potential investors. But let’s assume those reports are accurate. There has to be a lot more going on here than big companies putting money in as equity investors. After all, these are huge sums for anyone.