OpenAI set for $500m investment from Japan’s SoftBank – reports

Japan’s SoftBank is said to be planning to invest $500 million in OpenAI’s multi-billion dollar funding round.

The investment will reportedly come from the bank’s Vision Fund, according to The Information on Monday (Sep. 30). This comes after it was reported that OpenAI was aiming to raise $6.5 billion in a fresh funding round that would bring the tech company to a $150 billion valuation. The round included Microsoft, OpenAI’s current biggest backer.

This comes after the New York Times published documents on September 29 showing that, while the company’s revenues were up 1,700% since 2023, OpenAI was also expecting to lose around $5 billion in 2024, after overheads like operational costs and salaries have been paid.

What could this mean for the future of OpenAI?

It’s no secret that OpenAI has lofty ambitions. CEO Sam Altman has laid out predictions for the future of artificial intelligence, claiming that superintelligence could be here sooner than most think.

This new round of fundraising would bring about a wealth of new opportunities for the AI research company to expand and grow. OpenAI has been leading the charge in reshaping the artificial intelligence industry thanks to its flagship product ChatGPT, but more and more competitors are entering the scene and the extreme cost associated with training AI systems means more money is required to remain on top.

If the financing round is successful, OpenAI will solidify its place as one of the world’s most valuable startups. Considering how much the company’s advancements in AI have already shaped the industry, it would also be sure to result in some major steps in the space.

Exactly what that would look like remains to be seen. Altman touched on healthcare, education, and personal assistants in his predictions for the future but AI is also increasingly being put to use in retail, fraud detection, and various other areas.

Featured image: Ideogram

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