SoftBank lifts OpenAI stake to 11% with $41 bil investment

Japanese technology giant SoftBank revealed on Wednesday that it now holds an 11% stake in OpenAI, following the completion of the second stage of its massive $41 billion investment in the ChatGPT developer.

After years of notable gains and losses from high-profile investments, SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son has shifted the company’s focus toward artificial intelligence (AI).

SoftBank initially announced plans in April to invest up to $40 billion in OpenAI. The company confirmed on Wednesday that it has completed the second tranche of $22.5 billion, bringing the total investment to $41 billion. This includes $30 billion from the SoftBank Vision Fund and an additional $11 billion from third-party investors.

“We are deeply aligned with OpenAI’s vision of ensuring AGI benefits all of humanity,” said Son, 68, referring to artificial general intelligence (AGI)—the next phase of AI development in which machines could surpass human capabilities across multiple tasks.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman praised SoftBank’s long-standing commitment to AI innovation, adding, “Their global leadership and scale help us move faster and bring advanced intelligence to the world.”

SoftBank and OpenAI, along with Oracle, are also spearheading the $500 billion Stargate Project, a U.S.-based AI infrastructure initiative announced by President Donald Trump in January 2025.

In addition, SoftBank confirmed this week its agreement to acquire U.S. data center investor DigitalBridge in a $4 billion deal, further strengthening its position in the global AI and data infrastructure sector.