Key Points
- SoftBank has officially completed its $40 billion investment in OpenAI. The final payment of over $22 billion was sent last week.
- The deal gives SoftBank a stake of more than 10% in the AI leader.
- Part of the money will fund the “Stargate” AI infrastructure project with Oracle.
- SoftBank sold its Nvidia stake to help finance this massive OpenAI deal.
SoftBank has officially completed its massive $40 billion investment in OpenAI. According to sources, the Japanese investment giant sent the final tranche of funds, between $22 and $22.5 billion, to the ChatGPT maker last week. This final payment completes a deal that has been in the works for months and gives SoftBank a stake of more than 10% in the world’s leading AI company.
This significant investment is part of a plan first reported in February. At the time, sources said SoftBank was finalizing a deal to invest $40 billion in the Sam Altman-led startup at a $260 billion valuation.
A portion of that money is intended to fund a joint venture called Stargate, a partnership among OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank to build the massive AI infrastructure needed for the future.
SoftBank has been on a mission to position itself at the heart of the AI revolution. The company was an early investor in the chipmaker Nvidia and has been making aggressive moves to secure its place in the industry.
To raise the cash for this OpenAI deal, SoftBank recently sold its entire $5.8 billion stake in Nvidia. Additionally, this past Monday, the company agreed to acquire the data center investment firm DigitalBridge for $4 billion.
This flurry of activity shows that SoftBank’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is going “all-in” on the idea that AI will reshape the global economy. By owning a significant piece of OpenAI and the physical data centers that power it, SoftBank is betting that it can ride the AI wave to massive future profits.
