Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) caught a lift Tuesday after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman went out of his way to publicly reaffirm his company's relationship with the chipmaker. Sometimes the best PR move is just saying what you mean.

Altman Sets the Record Straight

In a post on X, Altman said Nvidia makes "the best AI chips in the world" and made it clear that OpenAI plans to remain a major customer "for a very long time." As for the swirling rumors? He wasn't having it.

"We love working with NVIDIA and they make the best AI chips in the world. We hope to be a gigantic customer for a very long time. I don't get where all this insanity is coming from," he posted.

The whole thing started after Reuters reported that OpenAI had grown dissatisfied with some of Nvidia's newest AI chips and had been quietly exploring alternatives since last year, citing sources familiar with the matter. The report raised concerns that the situation could threaten Nvidia's reported $100 billion investment in the AI startup, which naturally got investors nervous.

The Inference Angle

According to the Reuters piece, OpenAI's interest in alternative chips isn't about abandoning Nvidia entirely. It's more about finding the right tools for different jobs. Specifically, OpenAI is increasingly focused on inference, the process that allows AI systems like ChatGPT to generate responses to users in real time. While Nvidia remains the undisputed champion for training large AI models, inference is shaping up to be a new competitive front where rival chipmakers are making their moves.

Wedbush Calls It Strategic Brilliance

The broader context here involves worries about circular financing and whether OpenAI is becoming "too big to fail," making Nvidia's planned investment one of the market's most scrutinized deals. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives sees the current debate as a positive validation moment rather than a red flag. He called Nvidia's potential $100 billion investment a strategic masterstroke, noting that CEO Jensen Huang is backing Altman while maintaining leverage to prevent competitors like Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) Google from gaining ground.

NVDA Price Action: Nvidia shares were up 0.59% at $186.70 during premarket trading on Tuesday, according to market data.