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.
Semiconductor business between Taiwan and the US is a “win-win” model for both sides given the high level of complementarity, the government said yesterday responding to tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Home to the world’s largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), Taiwan is a key link in the global technology supply chain for companies such as Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp. Trump said on Monday he plans to impose tariffs on imported chips, pharmaceuticals and steel in an effort to get the producers to make them in the US. “Taiwan and the US semiconductor and other technology industries
SMALL AND EFFICIENT: The Chinese AI app’s initial success has spurred worries in the US that its tech giants’ massive AI spending needs re-evaluation, a market strategist said Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) start-up DeepSeek’s (深度求索) eponymous AI assistant rocketed to the top of Apple Inc’s iPhone download charts, stirring doubts in Silicon Valley about the strength of the US’ technological dominance. The app’s underlying AI model is widely seen as competitive with OpenAI and Meta Platforms Inc’s latest. Its claim that it cost much less to train and develop triggered share moves across Asia’s supply chain. Chinese tech firms linked to DeepSeek, such as Iflytek Co (科大訊飛), surged yesterday, while chipmaking tool makers like Advantest Corp slumped on the potential threat to demand for Nvidia Corp’s AI accelerators. US stock
The US Federal Reserve is expected to announce a pause in rate cuts on Wednesday, as policymakers look to continue tackling inflation under close and vocal scrutiny from US President Donald Trump. The Fed cut its key lending rate by a full percentage point in the final four months of last year and indicated it would move more cautiously going forward amid an uptick in inflation away from its long-term target of 2 percent. “I think they will do nothing, and I think they should do nothing,” Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis former president Jim Bullard said. “I think the
Cryptocurrencies gave a lukewarm reception to US President Donald Trump’s first policy moves on digital assets, notching small gains after he commissioned a report on regulation and a crypto reserve. Bitcoin has been broadly steady since Trump took office on Monday and was trading at about US$105,000 yesterday as some of the euphoria around a hoped-for revolution in cryptocurrency regulation ebbed. Smaller cryptocurrency ether has likewise had a fairly steady week, although was up 5 percent in the Asia day to US$3,420. Bitcoin had been one of the most spectacular “Trump trades” in financial markets, gaining 50 percent to break above US$100,000 and
RSS