SoftBank plans to invest up to $25 billion in OpenAI - Media.

SoftBank in talks to invest in OpenAI

The Japanese conglomerate SoftBank is considering the possibility of investing up to $25 billion in OpenAI, which will help expand its presence in the field of artificial intelligence. SoftBank will become the largest investor in OpenAI, surpassing Microsoft.

SoftBank plans to allocate between $15 and $25 billion directly to OpenAI, including the already allocated $15 billion for the Stargate initiative. The deal with OpenAI is being discussed after joint investments by SoftBank and Microsoft in Stargate amounting to $100 billion, which could rise to $500 billion over four years.

This deal will reduce OpenAI's dependence on Microsoft for computing resources, as Microsoft has relinquished its status as the sole cloud provider for OpenAI. Negotiations regarding the deal are still ongoing and have no final confirmation.

Amid these negotiations, it is worth noting the release of the Chinese startup DeepSeek's new AI model R1 on a modest budget. This release has raised concerns in the stock markets.

If the deal is successfully concluded, it will be one of the largest investments by SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son since the $16 billion invested in WeWork. Moreover, it will allow OpenAI to expand its capabilities without restrictions from Microsoft.