{"id":218910,"date":"2026-03-02T00:05:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T05:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/02\/openai-wins-pentagon-work-as-altman-tries-to-square-circular-deals-after-raising-110b\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T00:10:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T05:10:09","slug":"openai-wins-pentagon-work-as-altman-tries-to-square-circular-deals-after-raising-110b","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/02\/openai-wins-pentagon-work-as-altman-tries-to-square-circular-deals-after-raising-110b\/","title":{"rendered":"OpenAI Wins Pentagon Work as Altman Tries to Square Circular Deals after Raising $110B"},"content":{"rendered":"

OpenAI Wins Pentagon Work as Altman Tries to Square Circular Deals after Raising $110B<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.thedailyupside.com\/technology\/artificial-intelligence\/altman-tries-to-square-circular-deals-after-openais-latest-major-financing-pact\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-03-02 00:05:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: www.thedailyupside.com<\/a><\/p>\n

To make a mountain of moolah, you\u2019ve got to raise a mountain of moolah to burn. That is how the saying goes, right?<\/p>\n

On Friday, OpenAI announced a record-breaking $110 billion haul, lifting its valuation to $730 billion, more than double what it was a year ago. Participation from Nvidia and Amazon made it the latest so-called circular deal, in which money-losing artificial intelligence startups are financed by their own customers. Later the same day, OpenAI announced a deal with the US Department of Defense to provide AI services after a dispute between rival Anthropic and the Trump administration.<\/p>\n

Under Pressure<\/strong><\/h2>\n

OpenAI\u2019s latest fundraising round follows a $30 billion raise by Anthropic, which was valued at $380 billion. Nvidia and Microsoft, another OpenAI investor, were among the participants. In January, Elon Musk\u2019s xAI raised $20 billion, with Nvidia also in the round. All three AI startups, which have spent billions to scale, have a long way to go before making good on the upside for their hyperscaler investors. Some analysts, pointing to fears the stock market is overindexed on AI, have argued these deals could lead to intensified losses if the AI startups don\u2019t deliver.<\/p>\n

One option for raising more growth capital is a public offering, which OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI\u2019s new parent, SpaceX, are all reportedly weighing. In fact, Amazon\u2019s $50 billion investment in OpenAI\u2019s new round encourages it: The money comes in tranches, with $15 billion up front and $35 billion \u201cin the coming months\u201d upon OpenAI meeting unspecified milestones or completing an IPO or a \u201cdirect listing of equity securities.\u201d OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said he understands \u201cwhere the concern comes from,\u201d but the scale of the deals demonstrates they\u2019re not circular:<\/p>\n