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SoftBank is a transaction that is the largest financial supporter of the Chatgpt manufacturer as a pair partner for a large new artificial intelligence infrastructure project, and has been discussing up to $ 25 billion in Openai.
The two companies announced last week that it would lead a joint venture to spend $ 10 billion on Stargate, a vast data center project advertised by President Donald Trump, up to $ 500 million in the next four years.
According to multiple people with direct knowledge of negotiations, SoftBank is in consultation on investing $ 1,525 million in Openai, in addition to more than $ 15 billion commitments to more than $ 15 billion in Stargate. 。
Eventually, Japanese companies were able to spend more than $ 40 billion in partnerships with Openai. “The lecture is ongoing, and the amount that SoftBank can invest in open -eye in the primary quit is moving,” said the person who is familiar with this issue.
Openai can also invest about $ 15 billion in Stargate. SoftBank’s stock investment in Openai may cover the latter commitment to the US AI infrastructure project, according to some people with direct knowledge of transactions.
Although this contract has not been confirmed, it is an ambitious gambit by the son of SoftBank’s founder Masayoshi, and becomes a major AI unit by deepening the relationship between Openai and its highest executive officer Sam Altman. 。
With more than $ 15 billion investment, Japanese investors will become Openai’s biggest single backers. Microsoft, first invested in Openai in 2019, is the largest shareholder of the startup.
Major technicians such as Elon Musk are wondering how the huge cost of building Stargate has previously been satisfied.
Several people, close to the project, said that their sons planned to build large -scale interests in Openai and meet their Stargate commitments by Openai Senior Executives and Board.
His son has been spending many years of Artman’s courtship as he is trying to establish his position as a major player in AI development and progress.
Japan’s billionaire believes that Openai will get a larger strategy as a more wide strategy to fulfill his self -described mission to bring so -called “super intelligence” that exceeds human cognitive ability. Masu.
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My son’s ambitions are operated from power generation to robots to data centers, and people close to the founder of SoftBank believe that the UK -based semiconductor designer arm can produce its own AI chips. I am.
Through his career, his son gave extraordinary bets through several high -led investments that had dramatically failed before he performed the featured comeback.
SoftBank’s potential investment in Stargate and Openai has been discussed for several months. If his son spends more than $ 400 billion, it will be one of his largest investment in history, overturns $ 16 billion in the failed office space group WeWork.
Openai has raised about $ 200 billion in multiple funding rounds, including the main supporter Microsoft, including about $ 13 billion, and brought $ 157 billion in 2024. Softbank acquired $ 2 billion in Openai last year.
However, Altman has been seeking ways to reduce the dependence of Microsoft to calculate resources, such as developing their own chips and alliances with other cloud providers. As part of the Stargate contract, Microsoft agreed to abandon Openai’s status as an exclusive cloud service provider.
According to people who are close to the discussion, about one -fifth of the overall funds of Star Gate are expected to be fair. Stargate also needs to borrow hundreds of millions of dollars protected for assets and cash flow, using a commonly used financial structure for large infrastructure projects.
Openai’s board is also a switch designed by Openai to procure tens of millions of dollars from investors.
SoftBank and Openai have rejected comments.
Additional reports by Leo Lewis in Tokyo
