SoftBank OpenAI Investment Talks Intensify
SoftBank OpenAI investment talks could shift SoftBank's capital allocation and force traders to reprice exposure across AI names and data center funding.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- SoftBank had been in talks to commit up to $30.0 billion to OpenAI.
- The commitment would sit inside an OpenAI $100.0 billion round and imply about a $830.0 billion valuation.
- SoftBank sold its Nvidia stake and paused Switch talks to ready capital and back AI infrastructure.
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SoftBank Group is in talks to increase its stake in OpenAI, reflecting founder Masayoshi Son’s push to concentrate capital in artificial intelligence and potentially reshaping the firm’s funding and strategic priorities.
SoftBank’s Capital Moves and Investment Discussions
SoftBank currently holds an 11.0% stake in OpenAI after completing a $22.5 billion investment in December 2025. The company is discussing a commitment of up to $30.0 billion more, which would deepen its exposure to OpenAI’s business and form part of a broader $100 billion fundraising round.
To prepare capital for this larger position, SoftBank sold its Nvidia stake and paused negotiations to acquire the U.S. data-center operator Switch. These moves align with founder Masayoshi Son’s strategy to unwind positions and focus investments on AI technologies.
OpenAI Fundraising and Infrastructure Expansion
The potential SoftBank commitment is part of OpenAI’s $100 billion round, which could value the company near $830 billion if completed. OpenAI surpassed $20 billion in annualized revenue in 2025 but continued to operate at a loss due to high costs for models and infrastructure. This combination of rapid revenue growth and negative operating results highlights the cash intensity of scaling large AI models and the supporting compute networks.
OpenAI and SoftBank each agreed to invest $500 million in SB Energy to build a 1.2-gigawatt data center in Texas linked to OpenAI’s Stargate program. Stargate is described as a $500 billion AI infrastructure buildout, with $100 billion planned for immediate deployment to expand capacity.
Together, the investment talks, liquidity moves, and joint infrastructure commitments indicate a deliberate reallocation of SoftBank’s balance sheet toward AI and an effort to underwrite OpenAI’s large-scale expansion. The outcome of these discussions could significantly influence SoftBank’s capital allocation and its role in supporting the next phase of growth in the AI sector.
