OpenAI’s billion-dollar burn continues

Author

Jackson Berger
November 06, 2025

TL;DR. OpenAI’s multi-billion dollar spending spree isn’t slowing down. Just days after breaking free from Microsoft’s grip, it dropped $38B on AWS to supercharge its AI compute. When asked how that spend lines up with its comparatively modest revenue, Sam Altman got a little heated. Meanwhile, Google’s $32B deal to buy Wiz cleared a key antitrust hurdle, and Microsoft and Lambda inked a multi-billion dollar infrastructure deal powered by Nvidia chips.

OpenAI spreads the imaginary wealth beyond Microsoft with $38B AWS deal

In a major shakeup of AI cloud allegiances, OpenAI has inked a $38B, seven-year deal with AWS to expand its compute infrastructure, just days after its transition into a for-profit public benefit corporation. While Azure remains its primary partner with a $250B commitment, OpenAI is now diversifying fast, tapping into AWS’s Nvidia-powered servers for long-term scaling.

Google gets the US government’s green light to acquire Wiz for $32B

Google’s $32B acquisition of cloud security firm Wiz has passed a key antitrust review from the U.S. Department of Justice, bringing it one step closer to the finish line. Originally valued at $23B in 2024, Wiz's skyrocketing valuation shows the demand for enterprise cloud security in an AI-driven world. The deal is expected to close in early 2026.

Lambda, Microsoft agree to multibillion-dollar AI infrastructure deal with Nvidia chips

Lambda and Microsoft are teaming up in a multibillion-dollar deal to build next-gen AI infrastructure powered by Nvidia chips. With roots going back to 2018, the partnership aims to expand Lambda’s AI cloud services amid surging demand from tools like ChatGPT and Claude.

Invest in unicorns before they IPO

Startups are staying private longer, delaying IPOs, and changing how investors access high-growth companies. As a result, the private secondary market is gaining momentum, allowing investors to buy and sell shares of unicorns before they go public. This trend is also helping startup employees and early shareholders gain liquidity. Augment’s latest post explores how secondary investing is reshaping access to pre-IPO opportunities.

Quick Takes

Cheerio! Until next week.
-Jack