SoftBank Group Corp. is nearing completion of a $40 billion investment in OpenAI, valuing the artificial intelligence firm at a $260 billion pre-money valuation and $300 billion post-money valuation, according to a report from CNBC.
According to CNBC, the money would be spread over 12 to 24 months; the first tranche should arrive in April. According to CNBC, SoftBank is thinking of syndicating about $10 billion of the investment.
Should the agreement be finalized, SoftBank would rank first among OpenAI's investors, overtaking Microsoft Corp. (MSFT, Financials). CNBC reports OpenAI was valued in October at $157 billion; prior estimates of $340 billion were changed to $300 billion, CNBC said. Former President Donald Trump's joint venture, Stargate, involving SoftBank, OpenAI, and Oracle Corp. (ORCL, Financials), launched in January, is anticipated to get some funding from SoftBank. CNBC reported.
According to CNBC, SoftBank already promised $3 billion yearly to OpenAI's technologies, including Arm Holdings plc (ARM, Financials) investments and SB OpenAI Japan's founding. Recently, OpenAI debuted ChatGPT Gov, an artificial intelligence tool with enhanced security capabilities for American government entities, CNBC said.
DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company whose R1 model has attracted interest for its pricing structure, presents OpenAI with competition, CNBC claimed. Although DeepSeek's advancements were recognized by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, CNBC reports that OpenAI is still ahead.
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