OpenAI Boosts AI Compute Power With A $10 Billion Cerebras Deal
In Focus
- OpenAI will purchase 750 megawatts of power from Cerebras
- Cerebras will provide cloud services powered by its processors
- The deal enables Cerebras to expand its revenue sources
OpenAI has signed a computing power deal worth over $10 billion with AI chip maker Cerebras. According to Reuters, the OpenAI and Cerebras compute deal will enable the AI developer to purchase up to 750 megawatts of power from the chipmaker over a three-year period to meet rising demand.
Deal Follows Months of Negotiations
Cerebras CEO Andrew Feldman confirmed that the OpenAI and Cerebras started discussions in August 2025. The talks followed proof that OpenAI’s open-source model runs more efficiently on Cerebras processors than on conventional GPUs.
The AI chipmaker has developed a large processor capable of training and running generative AI. This capacity makes it a top competitor to NVIDIA, which offers large quantities of processors to cloud providers like Microsoft and Amazon.
Through the OpenAI $10 billion compute investment, Cerebras will offer the AI developer cloud services powered by its processors. These services will support OpenAI’s inference and reasoning models, which pause to “think” before generating responses. OpenAI plans to use Cerebras systems to power ChatGPT.
“Cerebras adds a dedicated low-latency inference solution to our platform. That means faster responses, more natural interactions, and a stronger foundation to scale real-time AI to many more people,” OpenAI’s Sachin Katti, said on the company’s blog.
OpenAI signed a multi-year deal with Cerebras weeks after it received the final tranche of a $40 billion investment from SoftBank. The investment secured a 10% stake for the Japanese conglomerate. The new funding was critical in enabling OpenAI to meet the rising costs of training and running its AI models as competition from Google intensifies.
OpenAI Will Use Cerebras’ Data Centers
The deal will see OpenAI use Cerebras’ data centers, powered solely by its chips. Cerebras’ 750 megawatts compute power is expected to come online in phases through to 2028. The AI developer will use the data centers to run inferences for its products.
Since its inception in 2015, Cerebras has gained popularity for production of specialized AI systems designed to accelerate long AI model outputs. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is among Cerebras’s initial investors.
The OpenAI-Cerebras deal highlights the growing demand for computing power to support AI inference as tech companies rush to build reasoning models. Recently, xAI announced a $20 billion data center investment in the southern state of Mississippi to expand its computing power.
The New Partnership Will Diversify Cerebras Revenue
The 2026 AI compute capacity deal will enable Cerebras to expand its revenue sources. The company has been generating most of its revenue from UAE’s G42, which accounted for 87% of its income in the first half of 2024.
OpenAI is preparing for an IPO that could potentially push its valuation to $1 trillion this year. If successful, the IPO will position OpenAI among the most valuable publicly listed tech companies in history.
Cerebras is also targeting to go public in the second quarter of 2026 in what will be a second attempt. The AI chip manufacturer initially filed for an IPO in September 2024 but withdrew the filing in October the same year.
