SoftBank has completed its $40 billion investment commitment to OpenAI, sources told CNBC’s David Faber. The company sent over a final $22 billion to $22.5 billion last week, according to these sources.
Previous states said that the Japanese investment company was “racing” to complete its commitment through an array of cash-raising schemes, including a sale of some investments. The company could tap its undrawn margin loans borrowed against its valuable ownership in chip firm Arm Holdings, previous reports said.
Previously, Softbank had invested $8 billion in the ChatGPT maker and syndicated another $10 billion with co-investors. The investment takes SoftBank’s stake in the company above 10%.
READ: SoftBank rushes to close a $22.5 billion funding commitment to OpenAI (
CNBC had reported in February that the company was finalizing a $40 billion investment in the Sam Altman-run startup at a $260 billion pre-money valuation.
The investment in OpenAI would be one of SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son’s biggest bets, as he steps up his efforts to cement the firm’s position in the AI race. Son sold SoftBank’s $5.8 billion stake in Nvidia to come up with the money for this investment. He also offloaded $4.8 billion of its T-Mobile U.S. stake, and slashed staff. SoftBank Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto told investors earlier that the company’s recent asset sales are part of a broader effort to balance growth and financial stability.
Companies have been massively investing in AI of late. OpenAI has made more than $1.4 trillion in infrastructure commitments over the next several years, including agreements with chipmakers Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom.
SoftBank has, over the years, been heavily investing in AI, and was an early investor in chipmaker Nvidia. On Monday, the conglomerate agreed to pay $4 billion for data center investment firm DigitalBridge to strengthen its AI push. Last month, Softbank liquidated its entire $5.8 billion stake in major AI beneficiary Nvidia.
READ: SoftBank, Nvidia to invest in Skild AI at $14 billion valuation (
A different source familiar with the move to sell the stake told CNBC at the time that the sale, combined with other cash sources, would support its OpenAI investment.
Earlier this month CNBC reported that OpenAI was exploring the potential for a more than $10 billion investment from Amazon.
Disney also became a backer, with a $1 billion equity investment deal that allows users of OpenAI’s video generator Sora to generate content with licensed characters such as Mickey Mouse.