Overview
- SoftBank is negotiating a potential additional investment of up to $30 billion in OpenAI, according to reports citing people familiar with the talks, and neither company has commented.
- The discussions are tied to a prospective raise of as much as $100 billion that outlets say could value OpenAI around $830 billion if fully funded.
- SoftBank already holds about 11% of OpenAI after completing a roughly $41 billion investment in December.
- SoftBank shares swung in Tokyo after the reports, rising as much as about 8% before paring gains.
- Analysts question SoftBank’s ability to finance another large commitment given recent asset sales, reduced Vision Fund activity, and reported negative free cash flow, while OpenAI seeks additional backers and advances infrastructure plans such as the $500 billion Stargate data-center initiative.