SoftBank rises on possible US$500 million investment in OpenAI

SoftBank Group’s stock rebounded, helped by the Japanese company’s possible participation in an OpenAI funding round that may better position Masayoshi Son in a race over artificial intelligence.

SoftBank’s Vision Fund plans to invest US$500 million in OpenAI, the Information reported, citing a person familiar with the deal. OpenAI is in talks to raise US$6.5 billion from investors at a valuation of US$150 billion, Bloomberg previously reported. The funding round is slated to be led by Thrive Capital, with participation from Microsoft, the company’s largest investor, and other backers. Representatives for OpenAI and SoftBank declined to comment.

Shares of SoftBank rose 3.4 per cent Tuesday morning, regaining some ground lost during a broad sell-off in Tokyo the previous day following the ruling party’s leadership election.

The planned funding round would cement OpenAI as one of the world’s most valuable start-ups, but it also comes at a moment of uncertainty for the high-profile AI company. Mira Murati, OpenAI’s chief technology officer, announced last week that she plans to depart, adding to an exodus of senior managers this year. OpenAI is also considering restructuring to become a for-profit business, Bloomberg previously reported.

SoftBank, which plans to deploy its formidable cash pile into AI chips as well as Japan’s AI infrastructure, has not previously invested in OpenAI. However, the two have partnered to help SoftBank’s domestic telecoms unit’s ambition to create a Japanese large language model and Son has said he talks frequently with OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman.

In June, SoftBank’s Vision Fund invested in one of OpenAI’s rivals, AI search start-up Perplexity AI, at a US$3 billion valuation.