BBVA’s Founding Partnership in the OpenAI Deployment Company

Cleary Gottlieb represented BBVA in connection with its investment in the OpenAI Deployment Company, a new company designed to help organizations build and deploy AI systems.

The OpenAI Deployment Company launched with over $4 billion of initial investment and is majority-owned and controlled by OpenAI.

The OpenAI Deployment Company is a committed partnership between OpenAI and 19 leading global investment firms, consultancies, and system integrators. The partnership is led by TPG, with Advent, Bain Capital, and Brookfield as co-lead founding partners, and BBVA, B Capital, Emergence Capital, Goanna, Goldman Sachs, SoftBank Corp., Warburg Pincus, and WCAS as founding partners. Investors also include leading consulting and systems integration firms, including Bain & Company, Capgemini, and McKinsey & Company.

In connection with the launch, OpenAI has agreed to acquire Tomoro, an applied AI consulting and engineering firm that helps enterprises turn AI into operational advantage. The acquisition will bring approximately 150 experienced engineers specialized in frontier AI deployment, known as forward deployed engineers, and other deployment specialists to the OpenAI Deployment Company from day one. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including applicable regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the coming months.

The Cleary corporate team included partner Chantal Kordula, associate Susana Gutiérrez, and international lawyer Ignacio Matte. Partner Swift Edgar advised on tax matters, and partner Derek Bush advised on regulatory matters.