The Japanese investment group “SoftBank” is in talks to invest as much as USD 25 billion in the tech giant behind ChatGPT OpenAI, The Financial Times (FT) reported.
The lender is reportedly considering investing between USD 15 billion and 25 billion. If the deal goes through, SoftBank will become the San Francisco-based company’s biggest financial backer, dethroning Microsoft from being OpenAI’s biggest shareholder.
Eventually, SoftBank’s investment in OpenAI could potentially reach over USD 40 billion. “The talks are ongoing, and the amount that SoftBank could invest in primary equity into OpenAI is a moving target,” a person with inside knowledge told The Financial Times.
The two companies teamed up last week with Oracle on a project called “Stargate,” a large data center projected to receive an initial USD 100 billion from each of the companies and an additional USD 500 billion over the next four years, according to OpenAI.
The FT said that SoftBank would reportedly cover its commitment to Stargate through its investment in OpenAI.
The world’s richest person and influential figure in US President Donald Trump’s administration, Elon Musk, said on his X social media platform that Stargate’s backers “don’t actually have the money” for the investment.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman responded to Musk’s post, stating that the funding claims were false.
“This is great for the country. I realize what is great for the country isn’t always what’s optimal for your companies, but in your new role I hope you’ll mostly put the US first,” Altman said.