OpenAI signs a $38,000 million agreement with Amazon to use AWS

What happened

OpenAI signed a seven-year deal worth $38 billion to buy cloud capacity from Amazon Web Services, Reuters reported on 3 November 2025. The agreement strengthens the diversification of OpenAI's computing infrastructure, which until then had relied heavily on Microsoft Azure.

The deal is part of a broader strategy among major AI companies to spread their capacity demand across different cloud providers, given the scarcity of available GPU capacity in the market.

What it means for a mid-sized business

The multicloud strategy of big tech players does not mean every SME needs to contract several cloud providers at once. The cost and management complexity usually outweigh the benefit for a mid-sized organisation.

What is applicable is the underlying principle: avoid unnecessary dependencies and design applications and data to be reasonably portable, so that switching providers, if ever needed, is not a months-long project.

What to review

Aspects to assess regarding cloud provider dependency:

• Which critical applications use services exclusive to a single provider without a simple alternative.
• Whether data copies exist in an exportable format outside the main provider.
• Which contract clauses cover portability and exiting the service.
• Whether the cost of switching providers has ever been estimated realistically.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this deal affect cloud prices in general?

There is no data confirming a direct effect on prices for mid-sized businesses; it mainly reflects capacity demand from major AI companies.

Does an SME need several cloud providers like OpenAI?

Generally not; the priority for an SME is avoiding unnecessary dependencies, not multiplying providers.

What practical lesson can be drawn from it?

That it is worth reviewing how portable current data and applications are before a provider switch becomes urgent.