OpenAI Secures Massive $40 Billion Investment

OpenAI and SoftBank have officially closed one of the largest private technology investment deals in history, with the Japanese conglomerate completing its full $40 billion USD (about $55 billion CAD) commitment to the ChatGPT maker. The news was first reported by CNBC, citing sources familiar with the matter.

According to the report, SoftBank sent a final tranche of roughly $22-22.5 billion USD last week, completing an investment that was first disclosed earlier this year. Prior to that, SoftBank had already syndicated $10 billion and directly invested another $8 billion into OpenAI. With the final payment now made, SoftBank’s ownership stake in OpenAI has climbed to more than 10%.

The deal values OpenAI at approximately $260 billion USD on a pre-money basis, underscoring just how aggressively capital is flowing into artificial intelligence as demand for AI-powered tools continues to explode. When the investment was first announced back in March, sources indicated the funding would be spread out over 12 to 24 months, with a significant portion earmarked to support OpenAI’s massive infrastructure ambitions, including the Stargate joint venture with Oracle and SoftBank.

The timing of the completed investment also highlights the intensifying global race to build AI infrastructure. Companies across the tech sector are pouring billions into data centres, networking, and compute capacity to keep pace with rapidly growing AI workloads. Earlier this month, SoftBank agreed to acquire data centre investment firm DigitalBridge for $4 billion USD, further reinforcing its long-term AI strategy.

To help finance the OpenAI deal, SoftBank also made some notable portfolio moves. The company recently liquidated its entire $5.8 billion USD stake in Nvidia, a key beneficiary of the AI boom. That sale comes despite Nvidia having earlier pledged $100 billion USD in spending on OpenAI infrastructure as part of its own strategic partnership with the company.

OpenAI’s soaring valuation could still climb even higher. The company has reportedly been in talks with Amazon over a potential $10 billion USD investment at valuations ranging from $500 billion to as high as $750 billion, and a blockbuster IPO as early as next year remains on the table.

For SoftBank, the completed $40 billion investment cements its position as one of OpenAI’s most influential backers and signals just how central artificial intelligence has become to the investment firm’s future vision.