SoftBank in Talks for Massive $25 Billion Investment in OpenAI

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SoftBank is reportedly negotiating a significant investment of up to $25 billion in OpenAI, potentially making it the largest financial backer of the American artificial intelligence startup behind ChatGPT. According to the Financial Times, the investment is intended to strengthen SoftBank's existing relationship with OpenAI, which is already valued at approximately $157 billion.

The deal comes shortly after OpenAI and SoftBank partnered with Oracle to launch Stargate, an ambitious initiative to develop data centers for AI systems. This partnership has an initial funding commitment of $100 billion, described by Donald Trump as “the largest AI infrastructure project in history.”

Amid these developments, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman addressed concerns raised by Elon Musk regarding the funding viability of Stargate, stating that their plans are beneficial for the U.S., despite Musk's claims that backers lacked the necessary funds. The discussions around SoftBank's investment have been reviewed by OpenAI's executives and board but are yet to be finalized.

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