Softbank Group Corp is in talks to invest up to US$25 billion in ChatGPT owner OpenAI, according to a person familiar with the matter, as the Japanese conglomerate continues to expand into the sector.
Softbank could invest US$15 billion to US$25 billion directly into Microsoft Corp-backed OpenAI, some of which may be used to pay for OpenAI’s commitment to Project Stargate, the person said.
Stargate is a Texas-based joint venture by Oracle Corp, OpenAI and Softbank that plans to invest up to US$500 billion to build data centers and other artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure to support the ChatGPT maker as well as help the US stay ahead of China and other rivals in the global AI race.
Photo: Reuters
Softbank’s investment would be on top of the US$15 billion it has already committed to Stargate, the person said, adding that the talks are at an early stage.
The latest OpenAI investment talks were reported by the Financial Times yesterday.
The Stargate venture was announced by US President Donald Trump, Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Oracle chairman Larry Ellison at the White House last week.
However, since then, a little-known start-up from China, DeepSeek (深度求索), has upended markets with a free AI assistant it said was developed cheaply using lower-cost chips and less data than its US rivals.
Softbank’s share price surged on news of the Stargate project, but has fallen more than 12 percent since the DeepSeek-induced selloff began. Yesterday, Softbank’s shares fell as much as 2.1 percent before paring some of their losses, but the news of OpenAI investment helped lift sentiment for tech stocks more broadly.
Softbank last year took a US$1.5 billion stake in OpenAI, which was valued at US$157 billion in its last funding round, cementing its status as one of the most valuable private companies in the world.
Son’s plan to take a large stake in OpenAI and meet its Stargate commitments has been vetted by senior executives and the board at OpenAI, the Financial Times reported.
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