March 6, 2026 · 11:35 Uhr
OpenAI has completed a funding round of $110 billion led by Amazon, Nvidia, and SoftBank, and is now valued at $730 billion. Simultaneously, the company exceeded $25 billion in annualized revenue. This valuation catapults OpenAI into a league with the world's largest technology corporations and cements the AI industry as a dominant investment class.
Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft will collectively invest approximately $650 billion in AI infrastructure this year according to Bridgewater Associates – Amazon alone plans capex of $200 billion. These historically unprecedented expenditures create massive barriers to entry for smaller competitors and reshape global data center geopolitics, including a $5.3 billion deal by AWS in Saudi Arabia. The AI infrastructure competition has definitively become a state and geopolitical matter.
President Trump ordered federal agencies to stop using Anthropic's AI systems; Defense Secretary Hegseth classified the company as a supply chain risk. Shortly after, OpenAI closed a contract to supply classified Pentagon networks. This politically motivated decision determines which AI companies gain access to billion-dollar government contracts and increases pressure on all AI providers to take political positions.
Experts warn of a new systemic risk: AI systems execute instructions precisely but do not interpret actual intent – small errors can multiply undetected across enterprises over weeks. Since these errors often become visible only late, classical control mechanisms are overwhelmed. For companies, this means governance and audit structures for AI processes must urgently catch up.
OpenAI introduces advertising in ChatGPT and secures Pentagon contracts, while Anthropic addresses enterprise productivity with its updated Claude Cowork tool and faces political pressure simultaneously. The public dispute between the two AI labs over advertising, safety standards, and military cooperation shows the industry is splitting into fundamental strategic camps. This polarization directly influences purchasing decisions by companies and government agencies worldwide.
The AI industry is at a strategic turning point in March 2026: record investments of $650 billion by Big Tech and OpenAI's $730 billion valuation signal that competition is entering an industrial consolidation phase where only well-capitalized actors can keep up. At the same time, the Trump Administration sharply intensifies the geopolitical dimension of AI competition by excluding Anthropic from government contracts in favor of OpenAI and sends a global signal about political influence on AI procurement. The "Silent Failure" risk highlighted by CNBC underscores that the rapid corporate adoption of AI far outpaces the maturity of governance structures, creating systemic risks for the economy and critical infrastructure. Europe and smaller market participants face the challenge of maintaining technological sovereignty in this environment while the lines harden between safety-oriented and commercially-military-focused AI development.
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