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SoftBank announced plans in April to invest $30 billion in OpenAI’s for-profit subsidiary, with $10 billion of that to be syndicated to co-investors
In sum – what to know:
SoftBank finalizes $30B OpenAI backing – The board approved a $22.5 billion payout to complete its planned $30 billion investment in OpenAI.
Payment tied to corporate restructuring – Full funding depends on OpenAI completing a reorganization ahead of a potential IPO.
Largest AI bet by a Japanese firm – SoftBank views OpenAI as a key long-term partner and cornerstone of its AI growth strategy.
Japanese compay SoftBank Group’s board has approved a $22.5 billion payment to U.S. AI company OpenAI, completing its pledged $30 billion investment in the U.S.-based AI company, according to a Reuters report.
The payment, initially expected in December, is contingent on OpenAI completing a corporate restructuring that would pave the way for an IPO. If that restructuring does not occur, SoftBank’s total investment will remain capped at $20 billion, according to the report
The Japanese conglomerate had announced plans in April to invest $30 billion in OpenAI’s for-profit subsidiary, with $10 billion of that to be syndicated to co-investors. SoftBank also agreed to lead up to $40 billion in total financing.
SoftBank previously said OpenAI is its most strategic partner and confirmed it had invested $2.2 billion through the SoftBank Vision Fund 2 since September 2024.
Last month, OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank announced five new U.S. data center sites under the Stargate initiative, the large-scale AI infrastructure program first launched in January.
OpenAI said that the expansion brings Stargate’s total planned capacity to almost 7GW, with more than $400 billion in investment already committed — placing the initiative on track to reach its $500 billion, 10GW target by the end of 2025, ahead of schedule.
Three of the new facilities are being developed through OpenAI’s partnership with Oracle: in Shackelford County, Texas; Doña Ana County, New Mexico; and a Midwest location yet to be confirmed. Together with an expansion near the flagship Abilene, Texas site, these projects add 5.5 GW of capacity and are expected to generate more than 25,000 onsite jobs and tens of thousands more across supply chains.
Two additional sites are being developed with SoftBank. One in Lordstown, Ohio, is already under construction and slated to open next year. The second, in Milam County, Texas, will be built with SB Energy, SoftBank’s renewables arm, and designed for rapid deployment with up to 1.5 GW of capacity over 18 months.
OpenAI noted that the five locations were selected from over 300 proposals across 30 states, marking the first wave of projects under Stargate. The new Stargate sites being developed by Oracle will join the flagship Stargate campus in Abilene, Texas, which is already up and running on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI).
The Stargate program was announced at the White House earlier this year with a commitment to invest $500 billion in U.S. AI infrastructure. According to its backers, the initiative aims to deliver large-scale compute resources, create jobs, and accelerate AI development across multiple industries.
