SoftBank Considers $30B Investment in OpenAI, Pushing Valuation to $830B
SoftBank Group is reportedly considering a substantial investment in OpenAI, potentially boosting the AI company’s valuation to a staggering $830 billion.
The Japanese conglomerate is said to be in discussions to invest an additional $30 billion in OpenAI. This investment would form part of a broader $100 billion fundraising effort. The move signifies a significant increase in SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son’s commitment to spearhead artificial intelligence development.
SoftBank already holds an 11% stake in OpenAI, having completed a $41 billion investment in December 2025. This makes it one of the largest shareholders in the company. The proposed capital injection would further solidify SoftBank’s position as a major player in the AI investment arena.
OpenAI is also reportedly in talks with tech giants Amazon and Nvidia about participating in the funding round. Despite reporting an annualized revenue of over $20 billion last year, OpenAI continues to operate at a loss due to the high costs associated with training and running advanced AI models.
Both SoftBank and OpenAI are investors in Stargate, a $500 billion initiative aimed at building AI data centers. These centers are described by executives as being crucial to U.S. ambitions to maintain AI leadership over China.
The discussions are still ongoing, and final terms could change. News of the potential investment saw SoftBank shares rise by more than 3%. However, analysts at S&P Global Ratings have warned that such a large commitment could put pressure on the company’s credit rating.
The deal underscores how frontier AI development is converging on an infrastructure-like financing model. This model includes sustained compute investments and long-term data center capacity commitments.
Source: Yahoo Finance