Overview

• OpenAI finalized a record-breaking $40 billion funding round, led by SoftBank, valuing the company at $300 billion, the second-highest private company valuation globally behind SpaceX.
• The funding includes $10 billion upfront, with the remaining $30 billion contingent on OpenAI's transition to a for-profit structure by December 2025.
• About $18 billion of the capital is allocated to the Stargate project, a $500 billion initiative to build AI data centers in the U.S. over the next four years.
• ChatGPT, OpenAI's flagship product, now serves 500 million weekly users, up from 400 million last month, reflecting the platform's explosive growth.
• The restructuring plan faces legal challenges, including lawsuits from Elon Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI, as competition intensifies from rivals like xAI and DeepSeek.