SoftBank Group has completed its massive $40 billion investment in OpenAI, according to a report published Tuesday by CNBC, citing sources familiar with the transaction. The deal ranks among the largest private funding rounds in history and reinforces SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son’s long-term conviction in artificial intelligence.
SoftBank has been assembling one of the world’s most ambitious private technology investment platforms, with a strong emphasis on AI and the infrastructure that supports it, including large-scale data centers and computing capacity.
Artificial intelligence has become the dominant force shaping global technology markets this year. Heavy investment by major corporations has accelerated innovation while significantly altering investor expectations across the sector.
Neither SoftBank nor OpenAI immediately responded to requests for comment from Reuters.
In March, SoftBank agreed to invest up to $40 billion into a for-profit subsidiary of OpenAI. The financing structure combined direct capital from SoftBank with syndicated co-investments from additional backers.
The initial agreement valued OpenAI at approximately $300 billion on a post-money basis. However, a secondary share sale completed in October lifted the company’s valuation to roughly $500 billion, according to data from PitchBook.
The report said SoftBank transferred the final $22 billion to $22.5 billion portion of the investment last week, following an earlier $10 billion syndication and an $8 billion direct contribution to OpenAI.
OpenAI has become a central beneficiary of the broader AI investment surge, positioning itself as a key player in next-generation artificial intelligence development.
The ChatGPT creator, alongside Oracle and other partners, is also planning a large-scale, multi-year data center initiative known as Stargate. The project aims to support future AI models and is backed by major investors, including SoftBank.
