SoftBank Group (OTC:SFTBY) is in talks to invest up to $30 billion more in OpenAI, as the ChatGPT maker seeks up to $100 billion in new capital, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
SoftBank and OpenAI did not immediately respond to Benzinga‘s requests for comment.
SoftBank's Tokyo-listed shares rose over 8% on the news, before paring gains. They were last up 3.7% on Wednesday afternoon.
AI Bet Gets Bigger
The Japanese conglomerate is one of the largest shareholders in OpenAI, with a stake of about 11% after it completed the final $22.5 billion investment last month.
SoftBank has moved aggressively to reposition itself around artificial intelligence. To fund the OpenAI bet, the company said it sold its stake in chipmaker Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) and telco T-Mobile US Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS) in November, scaled back Vision Fund activity, and tightened capital allocation. The Tokyo-based firm also reportedly hit pause on talks to buy out U.S. data center operator Switch Inc.
OpenAI, which is weighing a potential initial public offering, needs substantial funding to continue developing its AI models, while paying for its vast computing needs, and retaining top talent in a competitive market.
The Sam Altman-led company is also aiming to raise capital from Middle Eastern sovereign-wealth funds and other venture capital funds, and the latest capital injection, if successful, could value it at as much as $830 billion, WSJ reported.
Earlier this week, Altman said the company was planning to dramatically slow down hiring as advances in artificial intelligence allow companies to grow output with smaller teams.
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