SoftBank in talks to invest up to $25bn in OpenAI

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SoftBank is holding up to $ 25 billion in Openai, in a deal that would make her the largest financial supporter of the Chatgpt maker, as a pair partner in a new artificial intelligence infrastructure project.
The two companies Announced last week They will lead a joint project that would spend $ 100 billion on Stargate – a sprawling data center project that US President Donald Trump described – with a rise to $ 500 billion over the next four years.
Softbank is holding talks to invest $ 15-25 billion directly in Openai in addition to its commitment to more than $ 15 billion for Stargate, according to several people with direct knowledge of negotiations.
In the end, the Japanese company can spend more than $ 40 billion on its partnership with Openai. A person familiar with the issue said: “The talks are ongoing and the amount that Softbank can invest in the primary stocks in Openai is a moving goal,” said a person familiar with the issue.
Openai is also for Invest about 15 billion dollars In Stargate. Softbank stock investment in Openai can cover the latter’s commitment to the US spontaneous infrastructure project, according to several people who have direct knowledge of the deal.
The deal, which has not been completed, is an ambitious maneuver by the founder of Softbank Masayoshi Son to become a leading force in artificial intelligence by deepening relationships with Openai and its CEO.
An investment of $ 15 billion or more would make the Japanese investor the largest supporter. Microsoft-which was first invested in Openai in 2019-is the largest shareholder shareholder.
Leading technology numbers like Elon Musk have already been Asked how huge costs To build Stargate, it will be fulfilled.
Several people close to the project said that SON to take a large share in Openai and meet its Stargate obligations has been examined by senior executives and the Openai Board of Directors.
SON spent years in the altman flirtation, where the technical investor seeks to establish himself as a major player in developing and progressing artificial intelligence.
The Japanese billionaire sees a greater share in Openai as the axis of a broader strategy to fulfill its self -use mission to provide the so -called “Superintligence”, which is technology that goes beyond human cognitive capabilities.
The son’s ambitions in artificial intelligence generate energy through robots to databases, with people close to the founder of SoftBank saying he still believes that the arm of the UK’s semiconductor designer can produce its artificial intelligence chips.
Throughout his career, SON has recorded great bets, including some of the very used investments that have failed significantly before returning to a high -level return.
The potential investments of Softbank in Stargate and Openai have been in the discussion for months. If SON spends $ 40 billion or more, then this will be one of his largest investments ever, as it excelled over $ 16 billion in injection into the offices of the offices of the offices.
Openai raised nearly $ 20 billion in multiple financing rounds, including about $ 13 billion from its main supporter Microsoft, which led to an evaluation of $ 157 billion in 2024. Softbank acquired $ 2 billion in Openai last year.
But Altman was exploring ways to reduce his company’s dependence on Microsoft to calculate resources, including developing its own chips and partnership with other cloud service providers such as Oracle. As part of the Stargate Agreement, Microsoft agreed to abandon its location as an exclusive cloud service provider of Openai.
It is expected that about five total financing for Stargate will be stocks, according to people close to the discussion. Stargate will also need to borrow hundreds of billions of dollars guaranteed for their assets and cash flow, using a financial structure that is usually used for large infrastructure projects.
Openai’s panel is also in the midst of Complex negotiations To become a profitable company, in a key to allow Openai to collect tens of billions of dollars from investors.
SoftBank and Openai refused to comment.
Additional reports by Liu Lewis in Tokyo
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2025-01-30 01:07:00