SoftBank Group has completed a $40 billion investment in OpenAI, according to a person familiar with the deal. The funding marks one of the largest private capital raises on record in the technology sector.
The source spoke on condition of anonymity because the details have not been made public.
The investment further extends SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son’s push into artificial intelligence.
In recent years, SoftBank has concentrated capital on AI model development and the supporting infrastructure needed to run large systems, including data centers and networking capacity.
OpenAI is the developer behind ChatGPT and other foundation models used in consumer and enterprise applications.
The new funding is expected to strengthen its research and product work at a time of rapid global competition in advanced AI.
SoftBank has been assembling one of the largest private technology investment portfolios in the world through direct investments and its Vision Funds.
The company has framed AI as a central pillar of its long-term strategy.
Why This Matters Today
A completed $40 billion investment signals the level of capital now flowing into leading AI developers.
You are seeing funding rounds that resemble mega-acquisitions in size, reflecting expectations that foundation models will underpin future software and services.
The move also tightens the relationship between SoftBank and OpenAI at a time when major companies are racing to secure access to cutting-edge models and the infrastructure to run them.
It underscores how AI development is becoming concentrated among firms capable of deploying very large sums of money.
Our Key Takeaways:
- SoftBank has finalized a $40 billion investment in OpenAI, according to a source familiar with the transaction, making it one of the largest private tech funding rounds.
- The investment deepens Masayoshi Son’s focus on artificial intelligence and related infrastructure, including large-scale data center capacity.
- The deal highlights how leading AI developers are attracting unprecedented capital as companies compete to develop and deploy advanced foundation models.
You may also want to check out some of our other tech news updates.
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