SoftBank is negotiating an investment of up to $30 billion in OpenAI — Reuters

Japan’s SoftBank Group is discussing the possibility of investing an additional $30 billion in OpenAI.

This was reported by Reuters, citing an informed source.

If the deal goes through, it will be part of a massive funding round in which OpenAI could raise up to $100 billion, and its valuation would rise to approximately $830 billion.

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son is effectively betting “everything” on the partnership with OpenAI in an attempt to strengthen the company’s position in the global race for leadership in artificial intelligence.

In December, SoftBank announced the completion of a $41 billion investment in OpenAI. This gave the Japanese conglomerate an 11% stake in the company.

At the same time, OpenAI is facing rapidly rising costs for training and operating large language models amid intensifying competition, particularly from Google (Alphabet).

According to Reuters, Son was forced to urgently raise funds for the previous investment round. This virtually paralyzed other deals.

In December 2025, he announced the acquisition of DigitalBridge, one of the largest investors in digital infrastructure. The deal is worth about $4 billion.

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