SoftBank Boosts OpenAI with $40B Investment, Fueling Speculation About OpenAI’s Future as Valuation Jumps by 65%

SoftBank is reportedly preparing a massive $40 billion investment in artificial intelligence leader OpenAI, pushing its pre-money valuation to an astonishing $260 billion.

According to research by Finbold, if OpenAI were to launch an initial public offering (IPO) in February 2025, it would rank as the world’s 39th largest company, positioned just below Wells Fargo and ahead of Samsung.

This new valuation highlights a rapid surge in investor confidence, with OpenAI’s value soaring by 65.61% in just over four months. The company was previously valued at $157 billion in October 2024 following a funding round led by Fidelity, Thrive Capital, Microsoft, and Nvidia.

SoftBank shows continued confidence in strength of Silicon Valley AI

SoftBank’s investment simultaneously indicates continued confidence that vast investments in AI infrastructure are both merited and lucrative.

Reportedly, a part of the $40 billion is earmarked for The Stargate Project, a $500 billion infrastructure investment announced by President Donald Trump and led by an alliance of Oracle, SoftBank, and OpenAI.

As Andreja Stojanovic, a co-author of the research, pointed out:

“As recently as January 27, there was speculation that technology-focused venture capital firms might face ‘extinction’ as the release of China’s novel DeepSeek AI model and the decision to make it open source called into question the value of hundreds of billions of dollars already poured into Silicon Valley.”

Still, after the initial shocks, multiple analysts, experts, and insiders opined that the breakthroughs that enabled DeepSeek to be developed at its reported $6 million costs will, when paired with the extensive infrastructure available in the West, prove a substantial positive for the industry.

OpenAI’s valuation remains uncertain amidst the for-profit transition

Elsewhere, the $260 billion valuation might itself be somewhat dubious. OpenAI’s transition from its initial non-profit model into a for-profit company led to a somewhat convoluted corporate structure.

On Monday, February 10, an Elon Musk-led consortium offered to purchase the non-profit segment of OpenAI – arguably the most important, as it effectively controls the remainder of the entity – for $97.4 billion.

Sam Altman quickly rejected the offer despite it being substantially above other reported valuation estimates – placing it closer to $30 billion – for the non-profit section of OpenAI.