SoftBank is negotiating an investment between $15 billion and $25 billion in OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT. This move would position SoftBank as OpenAI’s largest financial backer, surpassing Microsoft’s $14 billion commitment.
The potential investment aligns with the Stargate project, a joint venture involving OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle, and MGX. Stargate plans to invest $500 billion over four years to build AI data centres in the US. SoftBank’s equity investment in OpenAI would be separate from its $15 billion commitment to Stargate.
OpenAI seeks additional funding to cover its multibillion-dollar annual losses and to remain competitive against rivals like Google and Anthropic. The company has been diversifying its computing resources, reducing reliance on Microsoft as its exclusive cloud-computing provider.
Senior executives and OpenAI’s board have vetted the discussions between SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman but have not been finalised, FT reported.
This development comes amid increased competition in the AI sector, notably from China’s DeepSeek, which has introduced a chatbot that quickly became the top free app on Apple’s App Store.
