OpenAI, once a little-known research lab, has transformed into a dominant force in the artificial intelligence industry just three years after launching ChatGPT. What began as a simple chatbot has evolved into a full-fledged platform reshaping how people work, learn, shop, and interact online.
During its developer conference on Monday, OpenAI detailed ambitious plans to expand its software and physical infrastructure, signaling its intention to become more than a digital tool. The company announced a new investment in 6 gigawatts of data center capacity powered by AMD chips, adding to its growing network of hardware partnerships with Nvidia and Oracle.
“We need as much computing power as we can possibly get,” OpenAI President Greg Brockman told CNBC.
The AMD deal comes as OpenAI continues to pour billions into building the backbone of its AI operations. In January, it partnered with Oracle and SoftBank to form Stargate, a venture investing up to $500 billion in AI data centers across the United States. The group’s first facility, a one-million-square-foot site in Abilene, Texas, is already under construction, with more projects planned in New Mexico and the Midwest.
OpenAI also agreed to pay Oracle $300 billion over five years to develop additional data center capacity for Stargate and secured a $100 billion investment from Nvidia to power 10 gigawatts
of computing infrastructure. Beyond U.S. borders, the company is expanding into the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates as it races to meet the growing demand for AI services.
The investments highlight OpenAI’s bid to keep pace with major competitors such as Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon, which have spent decades building their digital ecosystems. “ChatGPT is great right now, but it’s not ChatGPT versus Copilot. It’s ChatGPT versus the Microsoft bundle,” said Daniel Keum, an associate professor at Columbia Business School.
OpenAI’s expansion is not limited to data centers. The company is turning ChatGPT into a central hub for online activity, aiming to make it as indispensable as Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android. ChatGPT now boasts 800 million weekly active users, according to CEO Sam Altman.
New features unveiled Monday allow users to create Spotify playlists, browse Zillow listings, and make direct purchases through Instant Checkout without leaving the chat interface. ChatGPT’s new study mode personalizes responses for students, while its Sora 2 app introduces an AI-generated short video feed that rivals TikTok and Meta’s Reels.
OpenAI is even exploring hardware, partnering with former Apple design chief Jony Ive on an AI-powered device, details of which remain under wraps.
Experts say OpenAI’s trajectory mirrors that of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, which began as a search engine before expanding into nearly every corner of digital life. “Google has
become this very broad corporation that has an inevitable footprint in everything we see on the internet,” said Thomas Thiele, an AI specialist at consulting firm Arthur D. Little. “OpenAI is also aiming for a much bigger footprint.”
However, OpenAI’s breakneck growth comes with financial strain. The company, reportedly valued at $500 billion, is not yet profitable and recorded an operating loss of $7.8 billion in the first half of 2025, according to The Information. Still, executives remain confident that the heavy investment will pay off.
“AI revenue is growing faster than, I think, almost any product in history,” Brockman told Bloomberg. “At the end of the day, the reason this compute power is so important, is so worthwhile for everyone to build, is because the revenue ultimately will be there.”
Analysts say OpenAI faces a “chicken-or-the-egg” challenge: it must attract users to fund its infrastructure, but it also needs massive computing power to deliver the products that draw those users in. Corporate investor William Lee of SuRo Capital told CNN that as OpenAI tailors ChatGPT for daily tasks like education and shopping, user engagement could soar.
For now, OpenAI is betting on scale — expanding its reach across industries, countries, and technologies. Like the internet pioneers before it, the company is wagering that global dominance in AI will come to those who build big and build first.
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