OpenAI adds Google Cloud as supplier to meet AI compute demands

OpenAI has included Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) Google Cloud among its suppliers to meet escalating demands for computing capacity, according to an updated list published on the ChatGPT maker’s website.

The artificial-intelligence giant also relies on services from Microsoft (MSFT.O), Oracle (ORCL.N), and CoreWeave.

The deal with Google, finalized in May after months of discussions, was first reported by Reuters citing a source in June.

The arrangement underscores how massive computing demands to train and deploy AI models are reshaping the competitive dynamics in AI, and marks OpenAI’s latest move to diversify its compute sources beyond its major supporter Microsoft, including its high-profile Stargate data center project.

Earlier this year, OpenAI partnered with SoftBank (9984.T) and Oracle on the $500 billion Stargate infrastructure program and signed multi-billion-dollar agreements with CoreWeave to bolster computing capacity.

The partnership with Google is the latest of several maneuvers made by OpenAI to reduce its dependency on Microsoft whose Azure cloud service had served as the ChatGPT maker’s exclusive data center infrastructure provider until January.

Google and OpenAI discussed an arrangement for months but were previously blocked from signing a deal due to OpenAI’s lock-in with Microsoft, a source had told Reuters.