SoftBank Discusses $30 Billion Additional Investment in OpenAI

TLDR SoftBank is negotiating to add $30 billion to its OpenAI investment portfolio OpenAI’s upcoming funding round targets $100 billion in total capital The round could establish OpenAI’s valuation at $830 billion SoftBank completed a $41 billion OpenAI investment in December for 11% ownership Rising AI model costs are driving OpenAI’s need for additional funding SoftBank Group is pursuing an investment of up to $30 billion in OpenAI. The deal would expand the Japanese company’s existing position in the artificial intelligence firm. WSJ: SoftBank is in talks to invest up to $30B more into OpenAI as part of a broader raise of up to $100B. The round could value OpenAI as high as $830B if fully funded. pic.twitter.com/RCilto0rA0 — Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) January 28, 2026 The investment talks are part of OpenAI’s plans to raise $100 billion. Sources familiar with the negotiations confirmed the discussions are ongoing. SoftBank shares jumped 8% in Tokyo following reports of the potential deal. The stock reached 4,408.0 yen during morning trading sessions. The company already owns 11% of OpenAI after investing $41 billion in December. CEO Masayoshi Son has committed SoftBank to an aggressive AI investment strategy. OpenAI Valuation Targets $830 Billion The funding round under consideration would value OpenAI at approximately $830 billion. This would place the ChatGPT developer among the world’s highest-valued private companies. OpenAI is experiencing growing expenses related to AI model development. Training and operating advanced language models requires substantial computational resources. Competition from Google and other tech giants is increasing pressure on OpenAI. The company needs capital to maintain its position in the AI market. Son previously had to gather funds quickly for the December investment. This effort reduced other dealmaking activity at SoftBank’s Vision Fund. Multiple Funding Sources Under Consideration OpenAI is exploring various investment...