SoftBank Rises on Possible $500 Million Investment in OpenAI
- OpenAI in talks to raise $6.5 billion in new funding round
- Other investors include Thrive Capital and Microsoft
SoftBank Group Corp.’s stock rebounded, helped by the Japanese company’s possible participation in an OpenAI funding round that may better position Masayoshi Son in a race over artificial intelligence.
SoftBank’s Vision Fund plans to invest $500 million in OpenAI, the Information reported, citing a person familiar with the deal. OpenAI is in talks to raise $6.5 billion from investors at a valuation of $150 billion, Bloomberg previously reported. The funding round is slated to be led by Thrive Capital, with participation from Microsoft Corp., the company’s largest investor, and other backers. Representatives for OpenAI and SoftBank declined to comment.