SoftBank Volunteers to Replace Apple on OpenAI’s Key Investor List

Japanese investment holding company SoftBank plans to invest $500 million in OpenAI, the developer of the ChatGPT chatbot, Bloomberg reports. The investment will be part of a larger funding round in which OpenAI expects to raise $6.5 billion at a company valuation of $150 billion.

Image source: OpenAI

The round is expected to be led by Thrive Capital with the participation of Microsoft, OpenAI’s largest investor, as well as other investors. In particular, the company discussed investments with Nvidia and Apple. However, the latter is no longer involved in negotiations on participation in the round, but SoftBank may appear on the list of investors through its Vision Fund. If the deal goes through, OpenAI will cement its status as one of the most valuable startups in the world. Official representatives of OpenAI and SoftBank have not yet commented on this matter.

At the same time, the company is going through a difficult period. Last week, OpenAI CTO and key employee Mira Murati announced her resignation, adding another link in the chain of dismissals of the company’s top managers this year. Additionally, OpenAI is considering restructuring to become a fully commercial entity, according to Bloomberg. Let us recall that the founders of OpenAI previously positioned their company as a non-profit organization, focusing on research in “creating a positive long-term impact on humans.”

Note that SoftBank had not previously shown investment interest in OpenAI, but supported one of its competitors. Most notably, in June, the Vision Fund, managed by SoftBank Investment Advisers, a subsidiary of SoftBank, invested in Perplexity AI, an artificial intelligence search startup, valuing it at $3 billion.