OpenAI has obtained as much as $40 billion in fresh funding from the lead Japanese investment company SoftBank, constituting one of the biggest private tech fundraises in history. The financing reflects increasing investor faith in the long-term promise of artificial intelligence, with OpenAI using the funds to deepen research prowess, expand infrastructure, and attract top talent.
The transaction values OpenAI at approximately $300 billion, the sources said. While SoftBank is putting in the biggest piece, other investors taking part in the round are Microsoft, Coatue Management, Thrive Capital, and Altimeter.
Most of the capital will go toward scaling computing infrastructure. With OpenAI training and releasing more complex models, there has been greater demand for computing power. The new funding will aid in shortening development cycles and enabling future iterations of products such as ChatGPT.
Hiring is also a top priority. The firm intends to utilize some of the funding to vie for AI researchers, engineers, and data scientists in a very competitive talent pool. OpenAI has already stressed that hiring the best talent is essential to keep its advantage in foundational model development, such as generative AI and reinforcement learning.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has been calling artificial intelligence the keystone of future world change time and again. This new investment follows the company’s strategy of investing in long-term bets on nascent technologies, following on from previous investments in ARM and Nvidia.
The deal arrives at a time when enterprise adoption of AI tools is accelerating across sectors—from healthcare to logistics and finance. Analysts say OpenAI’s growing ecosystem of products and tools could shape how businesses automate processes and manage data in the near future.
A portion of the capital will also go toward AI safety initiatives. OpenAI said it will continue working with academic institutions and regulators to ensure that its technologies are deployed responsibly. The company has committed to transparency, ethical alignment, and the development of risk mitigation frameworks as part of its broader roadmap.
The $40 billion raise builds on a previous $6.6 billion funding round in 2024 and positions OpenAI to play a central role in the next phase of global AI expansion.
