OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced a technological milestone on Friday, revealing the deployment of NVIDIA Corp.‘s NVDA first full 8-rack GB200 NVL72 system on Microsoft Corp.‘s MSFT Azure platform, marking a major advancement in the companies’ strategic partnership.
What Happened: “First full 8-rack GB200 NVL72 now running in Azure for OpenAI—thank you Satya Nadella and Jensen [Huang]!,” Altman wrote on X.
The GB200 NVL72, known for delivering 30 times faster real-time large language model inference and enhanced AI training capabilities, represents the latest evolution in OpenAI’s infrastructure expansion. This deployment comes as Microsoft reported a 175% year-over-year surge in AI revenue and a $13 billion annual AI revenue run rate.
large language model inference is the process by which LLMs use their training to generate human-like responses to user input.
The infrastructure upgrade arrives amid reports that SoftBank Group Corp. SFTBY is in discussions to lead a massive $40 billion funding round for OpenAI at a potential $300 billion valuation.
However, OpenAI faces challenges on the competitive front. The company recently alleged that Chinese AI startup DeepSeek used its proprietary models without authorization, leading to the blocking of suspected accounts for terms of service violations.
See Also: Tesla Reports Over 10% Employee Reduction By Year-End Following April Layoffs
Why It Matters: This controversy emerged after DeepSeek claimed to have developed its R1 model for just $5.6 million using lower-end Nvidia chips.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella acknowledged DeepSeek’s “real innovations” during a recent earnings call but remained noncommittal about whether these developments mark a turning point for AI cost reduction.
Despite these challenges, OpenAI appears to be strengthening its partnership with Microsoft. Earlier this week, Altman hinted at expanded collaboration, stating on social media that the “next phase of the MSFT x OAI partnership is gonna be much better than anyone is ready for.”
This aligns with Microsoft CFO Amy Hood‘s recent statement that OpenAI’s Azure commitment represents just the “first tranche” of future growth potential.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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