OpenAI raising $40 billion at a $300 billion valuation in record funding round
SoftBank leads the historic investment despite growing competition from China.
OpenAI is closing on the completion of a $40 billion funding round led by SoftBank, according to a Bloomberg report. The funding is expected to be the largest ever for a private company, valuing OpenAI at $300 billion—nearly double its previous valuation of $157 billion from its last funding round in October, when it raised $6.6 billion.
Alongside SoftBank, investment firms Magnetar Capital, Coatue Management, Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, and Altimeter Capital Management are set to participate in the round. According to Bloomberg, in the first phase of funding, SoftBank will invest $7.5 billion in the AI giant, while an additional $2.5 billion will come from a syndicate of investors. In the second phase, expected to be completed later this year, SoftBank will contribute $22.5 billion, with the syndicate adding another $7.5 billion.
OpenAI ignited the generative AI revolution in 2022 with the launch of the DALL-E 2 text-to-image model, followed by the ChatGPT chatbot a few months later. Since then, the company has maintained its leadership position by consistently launching new and improved models that have often outperformed rivals. It has also strategically leveraged its partnership with Microsoft—a major investor—to integrate its AI into Microsoft's products.
In January, OpenAI and SoftBank reportedly planned a half-trillion-dollar investment in U.S. AI infrastructure, a venture endorsed by Donald Trump. However, just days later, the initiative—and OpenAI’s broader strategy of maintaining leadership through massive investments in AI model training—was called into question when China's DeepSeek unveiled a model with capabilities comparable to OpenAI’s, but developed at a fraction of the cost and computing power. This revelation sent shockwaves through the AI industry, raising doubts about the sustainability of OpenAI’s capital-intensive approach and its sky-high valuation.
The massive investment round led by SoftBank is a strong vote of confidence in OpenAI’s strategy and its CEO, Sam Altman. Despite DeepSeek’s advancements, investors appear to believe that OpenAI can sustain its leadership position—justifying its valuation even in the face of competition that can produce advanced models at far lower costs.
It was also reported on Wednesday that OpenAI is not expecting its cash flow to turn positive until 2029. The San Francisco-based artificial intelligence bellwether is grappling with significant costs from chips, data centers and talent needed to develop cutting-edge AI systems, according to the report.
By 2029, OpenAI expects its revenue will surpass $125 billion. Fueled by the strength of its paid AI software, OpenAI forecast to more than triple its revenue to $12.7 billion in 2025, the report said.
In September last year, Reuters reported that OpenAI was anticipating its revenue would surpass $11.6 billion in 2025, citing sources who were privy to the matter, adding that its revenue in 2024 would touch $3.7 billion, a figure corroborated by the Bloomberg report.
Reuters contributed to this report
