SoftBank Interested in $25 Billion Investment in OpenAI

SoftBank is in talks to invest up to $25 billion in OpenAI. A portion of the investment may be used to finance the ChatGPT owner’s commitment to the AI joint venture Stargate.

The Japanese company is considering an investment worth between $15 billion and $25 billion, according to the report from Financial Times. SoftBank’s potential investment would be in addition to the $15 billion it has pledged to the JV.

Meanwhile, OpenAI plans to invest approximately $15 billion in Stargate and SoftBank’s equity investment could reportedly help fund its commitment to the AI infrastructure project. While talks are said to be in the early stages, an investment of more than $15 billion could make SoftBank OpenAI’s largest individual backer, surpassing Microsoft which committed billions to the company at the start of 2023.

The news comes as the fallout from the emergence of DeepSeek, the China-based start-up that is rivaling OpenAI, continues. OpenAI reportedly accused DeepSeek of using its proprietary models to train its open-source AI rival earlier this week. ChatGPT-owner claims to have evidence that DeepSeek utilized its technology without authorization, flagging concerns about a breach of its intellectual property. The US also initiated a national security review of the Chinese AI chatbot.