SoftBank completes $41 billion OpenAI investment, secures 11% stake

New Delhi: SoftBank has completed its $41 billion investment in OpenAI, one of the largest private funding rounds ever recorded, securing an 11% stake in the ChatGPT developer. The transaction marks a significant expansion of SoftBank’s exposure to artificial intelligence at a time of intensifying global competition for AI infrastructure and computing capacity as per the news report.

The Japanese investment group said the funding was completed in multiple stages. An initial $7.5 billion investment was finalised in April 2025 through SoftBank Vision Fund 2, followed by an additional $22.5 billion deployed at a second closing via the same fund.

Alongside SoftBank’s contribution, OpenAI also received an expanded syndicated co-investment totalling $11 billion from other backers, according to the company’s statement.

SoftBank chief executive Masayoshi Son described the investment as a decisive commitment to artificial intelligence, reflecting the company’s broader push into AI-driven technologies and the infrastructure required to support them. Demand for advanced computing power has accelerated sharply as AI applications scale across industries.

OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman said SoftBank had recognised the long-term significance of artificial intelligence early and highlighted the role of its global reach and financial scale in supporting OpenAI’s development and deployment of advanced systems.

The completion of the funding round follows SoftBank’s March agreement to invest up to $40 billion in a for-profit subsidiary of OpenAI, structured through a mix of direct capital and syndicated participation. That deal placed OpenAI’s post-money valuation at approximately $300 billion.

However, a subsequent secondary share sale concluded in October valued the company at close to $500 billion, according to Pitchbook data cited by Reuters.

The announcement comes shortly after SoftBank revealed a $4 billion agreement to acquire digital infrastructure investor DigitalBridge Group, underscoring its growing focus on assets linked to data centres and network capacity.

SoftBank and OpenAI are also partners, alongside Oracle, in the $500 billion Stargate project to expand artificial intelligence infrastructure in the United States, a programme announced by President Donald Trump in January 2025.