The new funding would be part of a larger financing round that could secure up to $100 billion for OpenAI, establishing a valuation of approximately $830 billion, as mentioned by the source.
The individual requested anonymity, as these details have not been publicly released.
In an effort to strengthen SoftBank’s position in the AI sector, Chief Executive Masayoshi Son has bet heavily on OpenAI. In December, SoftBank announced the completion of a $41 billion investment in OpenAI, resulting in an 11% equity stake.Also Read: UPS to cut an additional 30,000 jobs as Amazon volume declines; shares climb
OpenAI is facing increased expenses associated with training and operating its AI models, particularly as competition intensifies from Alphabet’s Google.
The initial reporting of this news was by the Wall Street Journal.
SoftBank, whose stock rose 3.5% during morning trading in Tokyo, chose not to comment.
Reuters indicated last month that Son had faced challenges in securing funds for the prior investment, which had significantly slowed other deal-making activities at SoftBank’s Vision Fund.
Both OpenAI and SoftBank are also involved in Stargate, a $500 billion project aimed at developing AI data centers for training and inference, which executives believe is vital for the U.S. government’s efforts to stay ahead of China in AI.
(Edited by : Juviraj Anchil)
First Published: Jan 28, 2026 8:25 AM IST
