SoftBank considers up to $30B more for OpenAI as investors worry

In short: SoftBank is weighing a huge new investment in OpenAI, even as some investors worry the company is taking on too much financial risk.

What happened

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son is pushing deeper into artificial intelligence investing. SoftBank has already committed about $34.6 billion to OpenAI, which gives it an 11% stake, meaning it owns 11% of the company.

Those OpenAI holdings have risen in value on paper, helping SoftBank report stronger profits. SoftBank said unrealized gains, which are increases in value that are not yet cashed out, were close to $20 billion in late 2025.

SoftBank has also discussed adding up to $30 billion more to OpenAI, with reports suggesting OpenAI could be valued at roughly $750 billion to $830 billion. SoftBank has said these talks are fluid and not final.

To raise money, SoftBank sold its $5.8 billion stake in Nvidia and also sold parts of its T-Mobile holdings, raising $12.7 billion by late 2025. Son is also backing other AI-related deals and projects, including chips, robotics, and large data centers (big buildings full of computers, like a power plant but for computing).

Why it matters

Big AI projects can cost vast sums and may take years to pay off, if they pay off at all. Ratings agency S&P Global has warned SoftBank’s heavy spending could pressure its credit rating, which affects how expensive it is for the company to borrow money. For everyday people, this matters because it signals how much big tech funding is concentrating around a few major players, which can shape what AI products get built, how fast they arrive, and who controls them.

Source: Financial Times