SoftBank Set to Overtake Microsoft as OpenAI’s Top Investor with $25B Stake!

Following a fundraising round that brought in a total of $6.6 billion from investors like Microsoft, NVIDIA, Thrive Capital, SoftBank, and others, struggling to avoid bankruptcy due to projected losses of $5 billion within the next year, OpenAI is said to be negotiating another funding round worth $40 billion, potentially increasing its market value to around $340 billion (according to The Wall Street Journal).

Based on anonymous reports, it’s expected that SoftBank will take the lead in the funding round, investing between $15 billion and $25 billion. Remarkably, if this happens, SoftBank would displace Microsoft as OpenAI’s largest shareholder, making them the new key stakeholders.

Should OpenAI successfully conclude its funding round negotiations, the value of this AI company could potentially double from its October valuation of $157 billion, reaching an impressive $340 billion. A significant portion of the funds raised during this round will be directed towards OpenAI’s ambitious $500 billion project, Stargate, which aims to build data centers nationwide in the U.S. This investment is intended to enhance its AI capabilities as it faces increasing competition from Chinese AI startup DeepSeek.

OpenAI is currently facing significant pressure from investors to transition into a money-making organization. Elon Musk, a previous co-founder of OpenAI and the CEO of Tesla, has filed two lawsuits against OpenAI’s current CEO Sam Altman. The reason for this legal action, as stated by Musk, is that OpenAI deviated from its original mission and may have been involved in illegal activities such as racketeering. Musk argues that he was tricked into investing in the AI company under false pretenses of a charitable cause.

According to market experts, there’s a possibility that OpenAI might face threats from outside entities looking to interfere or take over if it doesn’t become profitable within two years. This scenario would likely involve returning funds to investors who supported its ongoing operations. Moreover, analysts foresee Microsoft potentially buying OpenAI within the next three years as investor enthusiasm for AI starts to wane and partnerships weaken.

Regardless of its impressive achievements and two-year advantage in the AI sector, the company behind ChatGPT may face up to $44 billion in losses before turning a profit in 2029. These losses are due to expenses such as training and operating advanced AI models, paying employees, purchasing data, and partnership costs with Microsoft, which takes a 20% slice of OpenAI’s revenue.

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2025-01-31 21:09