In-Depth

Tracking the AI Gold Rush: How Much Does All This Innovation Cost?

What big-ticket deals and strategic moves are driving the booming generative AI economy? From massive datacenter buildouts to blockbuster acquisitions, keep track of the most notable investments here.

The AI boom is driving unprecedented amounts of deal-making and strategic investing in the tech sector. Months-old startups are raising millions with each funding round, while IT's old guard are spending billions to populate the globe with datacenters purpose-built for AI workloads. Sky-rocketing demand for AI means that corporations are racing to build capital, market share and mindshare, all at costs that would rival many small countries' GDPs.

To wrap our heads around the sheer scope of today's generative AI market, the editors of PureAI.com are tracking the biggest, most consequential of these deals -- the companies behind them, what they involve and how much they cost. The bulk of our data dates from the start of 2024 (though a few notable moves from previous years made it in). They are broadly divided into four categories: infrastructure investments, acquisitions, strategic partnerships and funding.

This is not an exhaustive list. However, as a window into just how much corporate wealth is fueling the generative AI economy, it's definitely an eye-opening one.

WHEN

WHAT

WHO

WHERE

HOW MUCH

Nov. 12, 2024 Red Hat to acquire AI inferencing company Neural Magic Red Hat, Neural Magic Undisclosed
Nov. 3, 2024 Microsoft to spend $10 billion through 2030 to rent CoreWeave servers for its AI projects Microsoft, CoreWeave $10 billion
Oct. 15, 2024 AI datacenter company Crusoe joins a $3.4 billion venture to build new infrastructure in Texas, reportedly for Oracle Crusoe, Blue Owl, Oracle Texas $3.4 billion
Oct. 2, 2024 Microsoft to spend $420 million to build an Ohio datacenter, the first of "several" in the state Microsoft Ohio $420 million
Oct. 2, 2024 Microsoft to spend €4.3 billion ($4.7 billion) over two years on AI and cloud infrastructure in Italy Microsoft Italy $4.7 billion
Oct. 2, 2024 OpenAI's valuation is now at $157 billion, having raised $6.6 billion in its latest funding round OpenAI $6.6 billion
Sept. 30, 2024 Softbank invests half-a-billion dollars in OpenAI OpenAI, Softbank $500 million
Sept. 26. 2024 Microsoft to spend 14.7 billion Reais (U.S. $2.7 billion) over three years on AI and cloud infrastructure in Brazil Microsoft Brazil $2.7 billion
Sept. 24, 2024 Microsoft to spend $1.3 billion over three years to expand AI infrastructure and education in Mexico Microsoft Mexico $1.3 billion
Sept. 17, 2024 BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners, MGX and Microsoft launch an investment fund to support datacenter buildouts Microsoft, Nvidia, Blackrock, others United States $30 billion
Sept. 16, 2024 Intel to build AI chips for AWS in multibillion-dollar agreement Amazon, Intel "Multibillion"
Sept. 11, 2024 Amazon to spend $1.8 billion through 2034 to expand its datacenter footprint in Brazil Amazon Brazil $1.8 billion
Sept. 11, 2024 OpenAI's next founding round might be worth $6.5 billion, which would bring its valuation to $150 billion (instead of $100 billion) OpenAI, Thrive Capital, Nvidia, Apple $6.5 billion
Sept. 11, 2024 AWS to invest billions over five years to expand its datacenter footprint in the U.K. Amazon United Kingdom $10.45 billion
Sept. 5, 2024 Nvidia contributes to a $160 million funding round for HPC infrastructure firm Applied Digital Applied Digital, Nvidia, others $160 Million
Sept. 4, 2024 Superintelligence company founded by ex-OpenAI scientist Ilya Sutskever raises $1 billion, bringing its valuation to a reported $5 billion Safe Superintelligence $1 billion
Sept. 3, 2024 OpenAI reportely planning massive billion-dollar AI infrastructure buildout, starting in U.S. OpenAI United States "Billions"
Aug. 29, 2024 OpenAI's valuation is poised to reach $100 billion after an investment deal led by Thrive Capital, Nvidia and Apple OpenAI, Thrive Capital, Nvidia, Apple $100 billion
Aug. 20, 2024 OpenAI inks a content licensing deal with Condé Nast OpenAI, Condé Nast Undisclosed
Aug. 19, 2024 AMD acquires hyperscale server provider ZT Systems to supplement AMD's AI systems AMD, ZT Systems $4.9 billion
Aug. 14, 2024 Amazon acquires edge AI inferencing company Perceive Amazon, Perceive $80 million
Aug. 2, 2024 Google hires top researchers from Character.AI and inks licensing deal for its technology Google, Character.AI $2.5 billion
July 24, 2024 Microsoft taps network giant Lumen to expand its AI infrastructure Microsoft, Lumen Undisclosed
July 22, 2024 Cohere raises another $500 million from Cisco, AMD and others, bringing its valuation to $5.5 billion Cohere, Cisco, AMD, others $500 million
July 17, 2024 Anthropic and Menlo jointly launch a $100 million AI startup fund Anthropic, Menlo Ventures $100 million
July 16, 2024 AI search startup Exa raises $17 million in Series A funding, with participation from Nvidia's VC arm Exa, Nvidia, others $17 million
July 11, 2024 Japan-based SoftBank has acquired AI chip startup Graphcore, which is valued at an estimated $2.8 billion Graphcore, SoftBank $400 million
July 9, 2024 VC firm Andreessen Horowitz is reportedly hoarding over 20,000 GPUs to rent to startups Andreessen Horowitz Undisclosed
July 9, 2024 Cloud object storage Storj acquires Valdi, a provider of on-demand AI-optimized GPUs Storj, Valdi Undisclosed
July 8, 2024 AI startup Hebbia raises $130 million in Series B funding Hebbia, Google, Andreessen Horowitz, others $130 million
June 28, 2024 Amazon licenses Adept's AI technologies and poaches its top executives Amazon, Adept Undisclosed
June 27, 2024 OpenAI enters a content partnership with publisher TIME OpenAI, TIME Undisclosed
June 26, 2024 AWS launches a $50 million fund to provide free AI tools access to public sector companies AWS $50 million
June 21, 2024 OpenAI acquires database database firm Rockset, which was reportedly valued at "a few hundred millions" OpenAI, Rockset "Nine figures"
June 15, 2024 Japan-based Sakana is set to raise $125 million, bringing its valuation to $1.1 billion Sakana AI $125 million
June 14, 2024 Microsoft plans to spend over $7.1 billion over 10 years to build new datacenters in Spain Microsoft Spain $7.1 billion
June 13, 2024 AWS launches AI startup fund worth $230 million AWS $230 million
June 11, 2024 Mistral raises another $643.7 million, bringing its valuation to about $6.2 billion Mistral $643.7 million
June 11, 2024 Oracle lends Microsoft cloud capacity to support OpenAI Oracle, Microsoft, OpenAI Undisclosed
June 10, 2024 Apple partners with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into its products Apple, OpenAI Undisclosed (reportedly nothing)
June 4, 2024 Microsoft to spend $1 billion to build a new datacenter in northwest Indiana Microsoft Indiana, USA $1 billion
June 4, 2024 Cisco launches $1 billion AI investment fund, with Mistral, Cohere and Scale AI its earliest beneficiaries Cisco, Mistral, Cohere, Scale AI $1 billion
June 4, 2024 Nvidia, Salesforce and Cisco contribute to funding round that earns Cohere $450 million Cohere, Nvidia, Cisco, Salesforce $450 million
June 4, 2024 AI startup Touchcast raises $100 million in funding from Microsoft, OpenAI and others Touchcast, Microsoft, OpenAI & others $100 million
June 3, 2024 Cloudera acquires Verta's Operational AI Platform for its machine learning group Cloudera, Verta Undisclosed
June 3, 2024 Microsoft invests about $3.2 billion over two years to expand its AI and cloud infrastructure in Sweden Microsoft Sweden $3.2 billion
June 3, 2024 Microsoft and Hitachi ink a three-year deal to integrate Hitachi's industry software with Microsoft's AI technologies Microsoft, Hitachi "Multibillion"
May 30, 2024 Google commits $2 billion to build its first datacenter in Malaysia and start an AI literacy effort Google Malaysia $2 billion
May 29, 2024 PwC signs on to become OpenAI's biggest customer and first reseller OpenAI, PWC Undisclosed
May 29, 2024 OpenAI and The Atlantic agree on a content partnership OpenAI, The Atlantic Undisclosed
May 29, 2024 OpenAI and Vox Media, owner of The Verge and other publications, enter into a content licensing agreement OpenAI, Vox Media Undisclosed
May 26, 2024 xAI gets $6 billion in funding round xAI $6 billion
May 22, 2024 AWS commits $17 billion over 10 years to expand its Aragon region AWS Spain $17 billion
May 22, 2024 OpenAI inks five-year content licensing deal with News Corp, owner of New York Times, Wall Street Journal and others OpenAI, News Corp $250 million
May 22, 2024 G42, with backing from Microsoft, commits to $1 billion infrastructure buildout in Kenya. Microsoft, G42 Kenya $1 billion
May 21, 2024 French AI startup H raises $220 million in seed round H, AWS, Samsung & other VCs $220 million
May 21, 2024 Scale AI raises $1 billion in funding round Scale AI, AMD, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta, Intel, Qualcomm & others $1 billion
May 20, 2024 Google announces plan to spend about $1.1 billion to retrofit its Finland datacenter with energy-saving technology Google Finland $1.1 billion
May 16, 2024 OpenAI and Reddit ink a content partnership OpenAI, Reddit Undisclosed
May 8, 2024 Microsoft to invest $3.3 billion to expand its AI infrastructure in Wisconsin Microsoft Wisconsin, USA $3.3 billion
May 1, 2024 Microsoft announces plan to build new cloud and AI infrastructure in Thailand Microsoft Thailand "Significant"
April 30, 2024 Microsoft commits $1.7 billion over four years to build out its AI and cloud infrastructure in Indonesia Microsoft Indonesia $1.7 billion
April 26, 2024 Google to establish a new Indiana datacenter for $2 billion Google Indiana, USA $2 billion
April 26, 2024 Google to spend $1 billion to expand its Virginia datacenter Google Virginia, USA $1 billion
April 25, 2024 AWS plans to spend $11 billion to build new infrastructure in Indiana AWS Indiana, USA $11 billion
April 24, 2024 IBM acquires HashiCorp to, in part, boost its capabilities around AI workloads IBM, HashiCorp $6.4 billion
April 24, 2024 Nvidia spends a reported $700 million to acquire AI container startup Run:ai Nvidia, Run:ai $700 million
April 23, 2024 Perplexity funding round raises $62.7 million Perplexity, Nvidia, Jeff Bezos & others $62.7 million
April 15, 2024 Microsoft invests $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based AI partner G42, making it a minority owner Microsoft, G42 $1.5 billion
April 9, 2024 Microsoft commits $2.9 billion to build cloud and AI infrastructure in Japan Microsoft Japan $2.9 billion
April 3, 2024 Nvidia to work with Indonesian government and local telco giant Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison to build an "AI Center" Nvidia Indonesia $200 million
March 21, 2024 Microsoft pays Inflection AI $650 million to license its AI software Microsoft, Inflection AI $650 million
March 20, 2024 Google to invest $1 billion to open a new datacenter in Kansas City, Mo. Google Missouri, USA $1 billion
March 27, 2024 AWS completes $4 billion investment in Anthropic Anthropic, AWS $2.75 billion (of $4 billion total)
March 18, 2024 Cisco acquires Splunk for $28 billion to, in part, strengthen the AI capabilities in its offerings Cisco, Splunk $28 billion
March 14, 2024 Apple acquires Canadian AI startup DarwinAI Apple, DarwinAI Undisclosed
March 4, 2024 AWS to build a cloud region in Saudi Arabia by 2026 AWS Saudi Arabia $5.3 billion
Feb. 29, 2024 AI robotics company Figure receives $675 million from Microsoft, Nvidia, Intel, OpenAI and others, giving it a $2.6 billion valuation Figure, Microsoft, Nvidia, Intel, OpenAI & others $675 million
Feb. 26, 2024 AWS to establish a new cloud region in Mexico by next year and spend $5 billion by 2039 on infrastructure AWS Mexico $5 billion
Feb. 26, 2024 Microsoft enters into multiyear partnership with Mistral Microsoft, Mistral Undisclosed
Feb. 21, 2024 Microsoft has signed an estimated $15 billion deal with Intel to tap the latter's foundry services Microsoft, Intel $15 billion
Feb. 19, 2024 Microsoft commits $2.1 billion over two years to its datacenter buildout in Spain Microsoft Spain $2.1 billion
Feb. 16, 2024 OpenAI is now valued at north of $80 billion after the close of a tender offer OpenAI $80 billion
Feb. 15, 2024 Microsoft commits $3.4B to expand its German infrastructure footprint over two years Microsoft Germany $3.4 billion
Feb. 5, 2024 Nvidia acquires AI startup Deci Nvidia, Deci $300 million
Jan. 25, 2024 Meta to invest $800 million to build AI datacenter in Indiana Meta Indiana, USA $800 million
Jan. 25, 2024 AWS commits $10 billion to build two new datacenter complexes in Mississippi AWS Mississippi, USA $10 billion
Jan. 19, 2024 AWS to spend about $14.5 billion through 2027 to expand its Japan infrastructure AWS Japan $14.5 billion
Jan. 18, 2024 IBM to acquire application modernization capabilities from Advanced in an AI and cloud play IBM, Advanced Undisclosed
Jan. 18, 2024 Arizona State University becomes the first higher education institution to work with OpenAI to use generative AI in education OpenAI, Arizona State University Undisclosed
Jan. 9, 2024 HPE acquires Juniper Networks for about $14 billion in equity in search for AI technology gains HPE, Juniper $14 billion
Jan. 4, 2024 Perplexity raises $73.6 million in funding round Perplexity, Nvidia, Databricks, Jeff Bezos & others $73.6 million
Dec. 4, 2023 Nvidia contributes to a $487 million funding round for Mistral, giving the startup a valuation of about $2 billion Mistral, Nvidia, Salesforce & others $487 million
Nov. 8, 2023 AWS reportedly plans to spend "millions" on an LLM called Olympus AWS "Millions"
Oct. 27, 2023 Google commits $2 billion to invest in Anthropic, starting with $500 million upfront Google, Anthropic $500 million (of $2 billion total)
Oct. 24, 2023 IBM acquires Manta Software to bolster its data and AI governance capabilities IBM, Manta Software Undisclosed
Sept. 25, 2023 AWS announces $4 billion plan to acquire minority stake in Anthropic Anthropic, AWS $1.25 billion (of $4 billion total)
July 19, 2023 Databricks acquires OpenAI competitor MosaicML Databricks, MosaicML $1.3 billion
July 13, 2023 OpenAI inks a content licensing deal with the Associated Press OpenAI, The Associated Press Undisclosed
March 14, 2023 AGI startup Adept raises $350 million in funding round, raising its value past $1 billion Adept $350 million
Jan. 23, 2023 Microsoft invests another $10 billion in OpenAI Microsoft, OpenAI $10 billion
March 4, 2022 Microsoft acquires Nuance for $19.7 billion Microsoft, Nuance $19.7 billion
July 22, 2019 Microsoft commits its first $1 billion to OpenAI Microsoft, OpenAI $1 billion

About the Author

Gladys Rama (@GladysRama3) is the editorial director of Converge360.

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