Major global semiconductor stocks surged on Tuesday following the announcement of a monumental strategic partnership between Nvidia and OpenAI.
The deal, centered on an intention for Nvidia to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI, sent powerful ripples through the world’s financial markets, providing a stark contrast for investors who often wonder “why is the stock market down today“ by showcasing the immense upside potential of the AI sector.
The positive sentiment lifted major indices, including the tech-heavy Nasdaq index and the broader S&P 500, while the Dow Jones stock markets also saw positive movement.
The landmark agreement
The Nvidia OpenAI partnership is designed to deploy at least 10 gigawatts of AI infrastructure, a project of unprecedented scale.
According to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, these systems will require a massive deployment of between 4 and 5 million graphics processing units (GPUs). This historic buildout will power the next generation of OpenAI models on the path toward superintelligence.
The first phase of the project, representing one gigawatt of power, is scheduled to come online in the second half of 2026, built on Nvidia’s upcoming Vera Rubin platform. The staggering Nvidia $100 billion OpenAI investment is intended to be progressive, released as each gigawatt of the new infrastructure is deployed.
NVDA news sparks global rally
The announcement was the most significant Nvidia news of the year, triggering a rally on Wall Street that quickly spread to the global chip sector. For investors tracking NVDA news, the implications were clear and immediate. While there is no direct way for the public to purchase OpenAI stock, this deal solidifies Nvidia stock as the premier way to invest in the growth of its partner. The excitement around a potential future OpenAI stock offering has only intensified, but for now, all eyes are on NVDA.
The impact was felt across the supply chain:
- In Taiwan, shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), which manufactures chips for Nvidia, closed 3.5% higher.
- In South Korea, SK Hynix, whose memory chips are critical for Nvidia’s systems, saw its shares end the session up more than 2.5%.
- In Europe, the rally continued, with equipment manufacturers like ASML and ASMI expected to benefit from increased demand from TSMC.
While the Dow today reflected a broad-based optimism, the technology sector was the clear leader, driven by the seismic partnership announcement.
A new era of computing
Executives from both companies highlighted the transformative potential of the collaboration. “Nvidia and OpenAI have pushed each other for a decade, from the first DGX supercomputer to the breakthrough of ChatGPT,” said Jensen Huang. “This investment and infrastructure partnership mark the next leap forward.”
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, emphasized the foundational importance of this infrastructure. “Everything starts with compute,” he stated. “Compute infrastructure will be the basis for the economy of the future, and we will utilize what we’re building with Nvidia to both create new AI breakthroughs and empower people and businesses with them at scale.”
TSMC still eyeing a slice of Intel’s foundry
This partnership complements the extensive work OpenAI and Nvidia are already doing with a broad network of collaborators, including Microsoft, Oracle, and SoftBank. The goal is to create the world’s most advanced AI infrastructure, supporting the more than 700 million weekly active users of OpenAI services and expanding its enterprise adoption. The strategic agreement provides OpenAI with the dedicated capacity to continue scaling its models and pursuing its mission to build artificial general intelligence that benefits all of humanity.