Reuters reports the Japanese investment giant is looking to invest $15 billion to $25 billion into OpenAI, with some of the cash being used to cover the AI firm’s commitment to Stargate, the $500 billion AI infrastructure project the pair recently launched alongside Microsoft, Oracle and MGX.
SoftBank’s OpenAI investment would add to the $10-15 billion it’s already pledged to the project, which will build data centres to power AI inference workloads, the first of which is being built in Texas.
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SoftBank has previously invested in OpenAI, having taken a $1.5 billion stake in the startup, as well as adding $500 million to its October 2024 $6.6 billion funding round, in what was the largest venture capital round in history
SoftBank’s latest Stargate-focused investment comes as the firm sits at the forefront of the mammoth AI infrastructure project, with CEO Masayoshi Son serving as its chair.
The firm’s reported willingness to cover OpenAI’s Stargate pledge comes after Elon Musk claimed the startup lacks the funds to commit to the project.
SoftBank’s investment push hasn’t stopped its share price from slipping in the wake of the DeepSeek sell-off, with SoftBank suffering a 12% drop since the panic began earlier this week.
