SoftBank, Japan’s Investment Group, is in talks to invest up to $25 billion (£2 billion) in Openai, making it the largest financial backer of the startup behind ChatGPT.
According to the Financial Times, the potential investment could range from $15 billion to $25 billion in the San Francisco-based company.
Other investors, including TikTok’s parent company, Bytedance, and British chip designer Arm, have already supported Openai and recently participated in a fundraising round that valued the company at $157 billion. Microsoft, currently the largest shareholder of Openai, also joined the round.
Last week, Openai and SoftBank announced the formation of Stargate in collaboration with Oracle, which Donald Trump called “the largest AI infrastructure project in history.” The partnership aims to build AI system data centers with an initial investment of $100 billion.
Multiple sources familiar with the matter quoted by FT said that SoftBank’s potential investment includes a commitment from a Japanese company to Stargate. Elon Musk, the wealthiest person in the world and a prominent figure in the Trump administration, has claimed that Stargate’s supporters may not actually have the funds.
Sam Altman, the CEO of Openai, refuted Musk’s claims on his social media platform X, stating, “This is a great opportunity for the company. I understand that it may not always align with your company’s interests, but in your new role, I hope you will consider it.”
Openai faced competition this month from Chinese rival Deepseek, whose latest chatbot topped the Apple Free App Store charts and impacted AI-related stocks on Monday.
Altman initially acknowledged the competition from Deepseek, stating that “having new competitors keeps things lively,” but later claimed that the Chinese company may be using Openai technology to develop competing products.
The proposal for SoftBank’s investment in Openai, led by CEO Masayoshi Son, is reportedly under review by senior executives and the board of Openai. However, it has not been confirmed.
After the newsletter promotion
Both Openai and SoftBank have declined to comment on the matter.
Source: www.theguardian.com
