In a move that has sent ripples across the technology sector, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang have voiced their support for U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to impose a $100,000 fee for H-1B visas. This endorsement comes alongside the announcement of a massive collaboration between OpenAI and Nvidia, with the latter planning to invest up to $100 billion in the ChatGPT maker.
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. The program is widely used by technology companies to bring in skilled workers from countries like India and China. Trump's decision to significantly increase the H-1B visa fee has been met with mixed reactions, with some arguing that it could stifle innovation and harm American companies.
However, Altman and Huang have defended the move, framing it as a way to streamline the immigration process and attract the "smartest people" to the United States. Huang emphasized the importance of immigration to the American Dream, stating, "We want all the brightest minds to come to the U.S., and remember immigration is the foundation of the American dream". Altman echoed this sentiment, saying, "We need to get the smartest people in the country, and streamlining that process and also sort of outlining financial incentives seems good to me".
While supporting the fee hike, both CEOs acknowledged the importance and benefits of immigration. This stance aligns with their companies' reliance on skilled foreign workers. India and China accounted for 71% and 11.7% of H-1B visa holders last year, respectively.
The announcement of Altman and Huang's support for the H-1B visa fee increase coincided with the unveiling of a major partnership between OpenAI and Nvidia. Nvidia intends to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI to support the construction of a 10-gigawatt data center using Nvidia's AI chips. This data center will be used to train and deploy OpenAI's next-generation AI models.
The partnership is a strategic alliance between two giants in the AI era, with the goal of strengthening their market dominance and steering the direction of future technology. Nvidia's investment will not only provide OpenAI with the necessary funding but also guarantee access to Nvidia's sought-after processors. For Nvidia, the deal secures its position as the leading supplier of AI chips and provides a financial stake in one of its biggest customers.
The collaboration will involve the deployment of at least 10 gigawatts of Nvidia systems for OpenAI's next-generation AI infrastructure, including the Nvidia Vera Rubin platform. The first phase of the partnership is targeted to come online in the second half of 2026.
Jensen Huang described the partnership as "the biggest AI infrastructure project in history". Sam Altman emphasized the importance of this infrastructure for OpenAI's future growth, stating, "Building this infrastructure is critical to everything we want to do".
The partnership between OpenAI and Nvidia is expected to have wide-ranging implications for the AI industry. It could reinforce Nvidia's dominance in chips and OpenAI's lead in AI software, potentially raising questions about fair competition. The deal also highlights the increasing convergence of AI, hardware, and cloud computing, with major players forming alliances to gain a competitive edge.
