SoftBank Group has completed a $41 billion investment in OpenAI, giving the Japanese firm approximately an 11% stake in the ChatGPT maker, in one of the largest private funding rounds ever, reports Reuters.
The investment includes an additional $22.5 billion from SoftBank after an initial $7.5 billion in April, along with an $11 billion syndicated co-investment from other backers. The deal previously valued OpenAI at $300 billion post-money, though a secondary stock sale in October put its valuation at around $500 billion.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has made an “all-in” bet on AI, supporting projects like OpenAI’s multi-year Stargate data-center initiative, which aims to power next-generation AI models. The investment reflects the global surge in AI spending and infrastructure development.
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
