OpenAI is in initial talks to raise at least $10 billion from Amazon and use its chips, a potential win for the online retailer's effort to broaden its AI industry presence and compete with Nvidia. The deal under discussion could value OpenAI north of $500 billion and see it adopt Amazon's Trainium chip, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

San Francisco

The release of Open AI's ChatGPT has accelerated the development of artificial intelligence and warnings about its impact on society.

Rise of AI

OpenAI is in preliminary discussions with Amazon to potentially use Amazon's Tranium chips for its AI operations, seeking to lower costs and reduce dependence on NVIDIA. This move is part of OpenAI's broader strategy to diversify its chip suppliers, having previously considered AMD as well.

Meanwhile, the global AI chip market is seeing increased competition, particularly in China, where companies like MetaX and MoreThreads have achieved significant valuations following successful IPOs. Despite these advances, Chinese firms remain behind global leaders such as NVIDIA, though domestic efforts are accelerating amid US export restrictions and policy debates.

OpenAI in initial talks to raise $10 billion from Amazon

This is another mega deal involving OpenAI. What do we know about it? Yeah, there are a lot of deals going on in AI right now, and OpenAI really is at the heart of so many of them. So OpenAI has been, Sam Altman and OpenAI have been diversifying their suppliers in a number of key areas. In the chip space in particular, everybody is pretty dependent on NVIDIA. Of course, NVIDIA now the most valuable company in the world, partly that's because everybody has to buy their chips to be able to train these AI models and mostly to run them so far. That's given them incredible margins, huge profits and revenue growth. So in this case, we're seeing Altman and OpenAI trying to diversify in the chips front where they've looked at AMD, one of the competitors to NVIDIA in the past, and now they're talking with Amazon about using Amazon's chips within their operations too. That would probably bring their costs down a fair bit, and it makes it more competitive for NVIDIA to be able to bid and get its chips into the OpenAI data centers. So what does this mean for Amazon's AI chip ambitions, because this is something that they've also highlighted. They've been trying to push this very hard. Amazon, of course, is the leader in cloud computing services, the traditional variations that we saw before AI services. Now you're seeing a lot of competition in AI cloud services in particular, and Amazon is a step behind. They're trying to use their chips, the Tranium chips, to be able to catch up a bit. They think that that's a valuable offer for a lot of the AI companies out there, and they think that this would be a significant step. Being able to get OpenAI to be able to buy these chips would be a big step forward for them. In China, another homegrown chip company having used a hugely successful IPO, what do we know about MetaX? Yeah, not to be confused with Meta, the company in California. This is MetaX. It's a chip company that just went public in China, and you're seeing some incredible stories within the Chinese chip space, speaking of competition in AI chips. So MetaX went public, its shares went up almost 700%. Its market cap is now $47 billion. It's a big company, it's significant, and most of us have never heard of it before. This comes just shortly after another company, MoreThreads, went public and also reached a valuation of about that level. So I think it shows the intense retail interest, retail investor interest in these kinds of chip companies within China, because they know that most Nvidia chips cannot be sold into China at this point. There's a big opportunity for local players to be able to supply the local market and make some big revenue from it. The multiples on these stocks, though, are kind of out of this world, much higher than Nvidia's. Peter, I mean, it was almost like a year ago that we heard about DeepSeek, and people in the know really knew about it, but some of the common mortals hadn't really heard about it. What do we know so far about where China is with chips and AI? Well, they're making progress. They're still very far behind, I'd say, on both of those fronts, particularly on chips. They have a long ways to catch up to Nvidia. We've seen CEO Jensen Wang make the case that he wants to be able to sell more chips into China. He got the blessing to sell these H200 chips, but there's still a market there, and they're still quite a bit behind. On the AI services front, it's quite a bit different. DeepSeek, Alibaba, the other leaders within the China market are really taking the open source route. They're looking not so much at building these enormous data centers and trying to make a lot of money from those services. They want to do open source. They want to go lower cost route to be able to get AI integrated into business operations much more quickly. That, of course, is with the support and the blessing of the Beijing government. Peter, when you look at how they're trying to actually spur domestic demand for chips, I mean, is this going to be the big story for China in 2026, that this will be a success? They're making progress, and this is a big policy debate in Washington right now, whether the Chinese domestic player is really led by Huawei Technologies, to be clear. Huawei is really the leader. There's a smaller company, CameraCon, that is also competitive within that space, but they're going to be the leading providers. They need to have their chips manufactured by SMIC, which is kind of the TSMC of China. They're quite a bit behind TSMC, unfortunately, for those companies. So we'll see whether they're able to make progress. The argument from Jensen Wang and David Sachs in the White House is they're going to be forced to catch up on the domestic front if we don't supply them some of these chips, and that would taper their interest in buying domestic chips.

A man who allegedly opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney's famed Bondi Beach has been charged with 59 offences, including murder and terrorism, New South Wales Police said.

Council of the City of Sydney

Accused Bondi Beach gunman formally charged with 59 offences

The Trump administration has issued a full travel ban on five more countries as well as people traveling on documents issued by the Palestinian Authority. It also imposed new limits on 15 other countries.

Washington

Trump expands travel ban, restrictions to include 20 new countries

Australia mourns victims of the Bondi Beach shooting – As police prepare charges against the surviving gunman.

Bondi Beach shooting: Funerals begin as investigation continues

Four days into the manhunt, law enforcement officials in Providence, Rhode Island, are still unable to publicly identify a suspect, despite a $50,000 reward and pleas for help.

Providence

Police release new images of person of interest in Brown shooting

Nick Reiner will be charged with two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances for the killings of his parents, Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner, who were found dead in their home over the weekend, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said.

Los Angeles

Rob Reiner's son to be charged with first degree murder of parents

U.S. military actions in international waters near Venezuela are under scrutiny following a September 2nd strike on a boat the U.S. claimed was transporting drugs, though no evidence has been provided.

U.S. bombings in international waters face scrutiny over Venezuela

The U.S. military says it has conducted another series of deadly strikes on three alleged drug boats in the Eastern Pacific, killing eight people. CBS News congressional correspondent Nikole Killion reports on that and more from Capitol Hill.

U.S. hits three more alleged drug boats in the Pacific, killing eight

U.S. President Donald Trump has followed through on his threat to sue the BBC over a misleading video edit of a speech he made on January 6, 2021, and filed a lawsuit against the media corporation on December 15. He will be seeking 10 billion dollars in damages.

London

Trump sues BBC over misleading video editing of speech

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says a proposal to end his country's nearly four-year war with Russia are "very workable" and could be finalized within days, but he warns key issues remain.

Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

Zelenskyy says 'workable' peace plan could be presented to Russia soon

On December 16, the Paris labour court ruled on the long-running dispute between Kylian Mbappé and his former club, PSG. It ordered PSG to pay over 60 million euros to the player in unpaid wages and bonuses.

Paris

Mbappé to be awarded over 60 million euros by PSG, French court rules

Police say the alleged gunmen who opened fire at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney's Bondi Beach had traveled to Mindanao in the Philippines last month, as investigators probe ties to extremist networks.

Bondi Beach

Islamic State link eyed after Bondi Beach gunmen's Philippine visit

Zelenskyy hails progress with the US during Berlin talks about security guarantees. Europeans vow to protect Ukraine, including via military means, against Russia in the future. But disagreements over territories remain.

Berlin

EU vows to assist Ukraine against future Russia attack at Berlin talks

Australia's prime minister said a mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach appears to have been motivated by ISIS ideology. Meanwhile, mourners flocked to the site to lay flowers and grieve for the people killed, including a 10-year-old child.

Bondi Beach shooting motivated by ISIS ideology: Australian PM

Four people have been arrested in California - charged with plotting a series of bombing attacks on multiple targets on New Year's Eve.

California

FBI arrests four over alleged New Year’s Eve bomb plot in California

Police in Rhode Island are searching for a new person of interest following Saturday’s deadly shooting at Brown University. Investigators say the case remains active as authorities work to determine a motive.

New person of interest sought in Brown University shooting

The son of filmmaker Rob Reiner was arrested on homicide charges after the director of beloved movies like "When Harry Met Sally ..." and his wife were found dead in their Los Angeles home, a police official said on Monday.

Rob Reiner's son arrested after director and wife found dead

A jury found Brian Walshe guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his wife Ana on New Year's Day in 2023 in their Massachusetts home. Legal analyst Jennifer Roman joins with more details.

Boston

Brian Walshe found guilty of first-degree murder in wife's death

Hong Kong's High Court on Monday (December 15) found pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai guilty of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and to publish seditious material under a China-imposed national security law that could see him jailed for life.

Hong Kong Island

Hong Kong court finds Jimmy Lai guilty in landmark security trial

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. negotiators are meeting in Berlin. As the U.S. grows increasingly pressed to end the four-year war, the peace negotiations continue, with territorial concessions to Russia remaining the "sticking point" for Ukraine.

Zelenskyy offers to drop NATO bid for security guarantees

Police have released a person of interest who was detained in a shooting at Brown University. Two students were killed and at least nine others were injured in the Saturday attack. Tom Hanson spoke with students about the shooting.

Police release person of interest in shooting at Brown University

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy proposed abandoning NATO ambitions in exchange for Western security guarantees during peace talks in Berlin. The move marks a major shift as Kyiv seeks to end the war with Russia without ceding territory.

Ukraine offers to drop NATO bid at Berlin peace talks

Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, were found dead Sunday in their Los Angeles home, sources told CBS News, in what police called an apparent homicide. Rob Reiner was 78 and Michele Reiner was 68.

Brentwood

Director Rob Reiner and his wife found dead in their L.A. home

Far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast wins Chile's presidential run-off, after defeating his leftist opponent.

Santiago

Far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast wins Chile’s presidential election

The person of interest authorities took into custody in connection with the shooting at Brown University has been identified as Benjamin Erickson. He's a 24 year old, originally from Wisconsin.

Person of interest identified in Brown University shooting

Two alleged gunmen who killed 15 people at a Jewish celebration in Sydney's Bondi Beach were a father and son, police said on Monday, as Australia mourned victims of its worst gun violence in almost 30 years. This video contains graphic images.

Father and son behind Bondi mass shooting, Australian police say

Israel has described a deadly mass shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach as an attack on Jews, after gunmen opened fire during a Jewish holiday event, killing at least 11 people.

Israel calls Bondi shooting attack on Jews, urges action on antisemitism

Two gunmen attacked a Hannukah celebration on a Sydney beach Sunday, killing at least 11 people in what Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called an act of antisemitism and terrorism.

Gunmen kill several at Jewish gathering in Sydney's Bondi Beach

Providence police have detained a "person of interest" in connection with the Brown University shooting that left two students dead and another nine people wounded, as the Ivy League school said it had lifted a shelter-in-place order for its campus in Rhode Island.

Police hold person of interest after Brown University shooting

Belarus has freed more than 120 political prisoners in a major thaw in relations with the United States. The releases came in return for Washington lifting sanctions on potash, a key source of revenue for Belarus.

Minsk

Belarus releases 123 prisoners as U.S. lifts sanctions

Washington was still under a state of emergency on Saturday after torrential rains swamped communities. Plus, snow and dangerous cold are falling on some in the Midwest and on the East Coast. Nicole Valdes has more from Washington state.

OpenAI in initial talks to raise $10 billion from Amazon

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