SoftBank completes $41 billion investment in OpenAI, secures 11% stake
GeokHub
Contributing Writer
Tokyo, Dec 30 — SoftBank Group has completed a $41 billion investment in OpenAI, marking one of the largest private funding rounds ever and giving the Japanese conglomerate an estimated 11% stake in the ChatGPT maker.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has made an “all-in” bet on artificial intelligence, increasing investment in AI technologies and supporting infrastructure to capitalize on the growing demand for computing power that underpins AI applications.
The latest round includes a $22.5 billion investment from SoftBank, following an earlier $7.5 billion contribution in April, along with an additional $11 billion from syndicated co-investors. OpenAI’s funding round values the company at roughly $300 billion on a post-money basis, though secondary stock sales completed in October have pegged the valuation closer to $500 billion.
This announcement comes shortly after SoftBank revealed a $4 billion acquisition of digital infrastructure investor DigitalBridge Group.
OpenAI, a leading AI developer and creator of ChatGPT, is at the center of the global AI investment boom. Alongside partners such as Oracle, OpenAI is working on “Stargate,” a multi-year initiative to build advanced data centers capable of supporting next-generation AI models.
The move underscores SoftBank’s strategic focus on AI as a major growth area, reflecting the increasing centrality of artificial intelligence in global technology markets.
