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SoftBank Group Corp. (TYO:9984) is reportedly in talks to invest up to $25 billion in OpenAI, potentially becoming the AI startup’s biggest financial backer, according to the Financial Times. While the exact investment amount remains uncertain, the deal underscores SoftBank’s aggressive push into artificial intelligence.
The discussions come after the launch of Project Stargate, a $500 billion AI infrastructure initiative involving OpenAI, SoftBank, and other major U.S. tech firms. SoftBank and OpenAI are each set to contribute $15 billion to the project, with any additional investment making SoftBank OpenAI’s largest shareholder after Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), which first backed OpenAI in 2019.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has been vocal about expanding AI investments, spanning energy, chip manufacturing, and robotics. The company already holds a stake in AI development through its ownership of British chip designer Arm Holdings (NASDAQ:ARM) and has expressed interest in building its own generative AI models.
The news follows the debut of DeepSeek R1, a Chinese AI model that claims performance comparable to GPT-4 despite using older hardware and a smaller budget. DeepSeek’s emergence has fueled concerns about escalating AI infrastructure costs, triggering sharp declines in global tech stocks. SoftBank shares have plummeted nearly 12% over the past three days amid these market jitters.
With AI rapidly evolving, SoftBank’s potential investment in OpenAI highlights its strategic bet on the future of artificial intelligence.
