Understanding AI Partnerships: Why OpenAI Isn’t Partnering With Intel

OpenAI, the pioneering artificial intelligence developer that transformed the world of generative AI with the creation of ChatGPT, has made partnerships a key component of its business model. But those who look closely at the list of deals it has made with tech developers may notice one glaring omission. Intel, which has become a global force in providing key components of AI and machine learning ecosystems, is not one of the companies with whom OpenAI is collaborating.

“Intel hasn’t made the list because it isn’t the best option for what it has to offer,” explains Pedro Rojas, founder of VIVY TECH. “The reality is Intel is years behind Nvidia, and its cost-performance ratio is negligible. OpenAI hasn’t made a deal with Nvidia because it stands to gain nothing from one. The stability it gets from Azure and Nvidia is already enough to support the infrastructure needed for its AI products.”

VIVY TECH is a venture studio focused on building AI-driven solutions across finance, defense, sports, and commerce. Arroyo has rejected the traditional startup pipeline of “idea–MVP–scale” and structured his studio around a centralized, flexible model that allows multiple ventures to emerge and operate in tandem. Driven by resilience, global experience, and a belief that technology must carry social purpose, Arroyo continues to expand VIVY TECH as a platform for innovation and inclusion.

Arroyo’s take on the direction OpenAI has chosen for the partnership aligns with statements made by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in September 2025, when his company announced a $100 billion partnership with Nvidia. The partnership was established to create the infrastructure needed for future AI development. “There’s no partner but Nvidia that can do this at this kind of scale, at this kind of speed,” Altman said.

How strategic AI partnerships have driven OpenAI’s success

Collaboration is a common business strategy that allows companies to address the challenges that threaten growth by rapidly tapping into resources, skills, and market share that are already mature and proven. It also adds to the list of stakeholders who have an interest in seeing initiatives succeed.

Collaborating with partner companies has become central to OpenAI’s growth strategies because of its unique needs. It must have massive computational power to maintain its AI models, and must streamline its market penetration to ensure AI adoption. The specific partnerships it has focused on have helped significantly in those two areas.

“Many of OpenAI’s strategic AI partnerships involve infrastructure and chip partners, such as Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and Oracle,” Arroyo explains. “To help with market penetration, it has established partnerships with tech giants like Apple, PWC, Salesforce, and PayPal.”

How OpenAI’s strategy for selecting partners may change

While building its current roster of collaborators, OpenAI was able to bolster its reputation as well as capabilities by targeting some of the biggest names in the tech space. As the AI landscape was taking shape, building strategic partnerships with cloud computing companies and service providers who could provide AI use cases was essential.

But at this point, OpenAI is putting more effort into fine-tuning its AI capabilities and into implementing more targeted AI solutions. Consequently, some experts feel it may focus on partnerships with technology companies that can provide the specific skills it needs, rather than a boost to its notoriety.

“A new hardware startup would have a better chance to partner with OpenAI than Intel at this point,” Arroyo argues. “For OpenAI, the names of their partners don’t matter anymore because they now control one of the world’s most well-known AI technologies. And its next round of fundraising will seek a figure that represents more money than has ever been raised in history. Virtually every business is begging to become an AI partner, which means OpenAI can be very selective in its collaborations moving forward.”

In October 2025, OpenAI announced that partnerships would continue to play a key role in its growth moving forward, especially as it ramps up its enterprise business efforts. Whether Intel will play a role in that growth remains to be seen, but the fact that OpenAI’s enterprise initiatives are expected to require significantly more data center capacity would indicate that Intel’s capabilities could aid OpenAI’s growth.

“The bottom line is OpenAI doesn’t need to partner with anyone else in the long term, and especially not with Intel in the short term,” Arroyo says. “From raising funds to developing products to getting AI solutions in the hands of users, OpenAI has the perfect circle of collaborators needed to continue to play a leading role in the evolving AI landscape.”

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