OpenAI, the world-famous AI research startup, has secured $40 billion in a new funding round, bringing its valuation to $300 billion and making it one of the most valuable startups in the world, as well as one of the most valuable companies overall. This substantial investment underscores the growing enthusiasm and confidence in AI-based technologies, driven by increasingly intensive use and an ever-expanding variety of applications.
The funding round was led by SoftBank Group, the Japanese financial holding company founded by Masayoshi Son, which contributed 75% of the total investment. The remaining contributions, according to Reuters, came from major players in sectors primarily involved in the world of AI — namely, technology and venture capital — both of which focus on investing in highly promising but high-risk technological ventures. Among these companies are Coatue Management, Altimeter Capital, Thrive Capital and, most notably, Microsoft. The latter had already contributed to the exponential growth of the Californian company, first with an investment of $1 billion in 2019 and then with $13 billion in 2023, leading to the integration of ChatGPT into Microsoft products, such as the Bing search engine.
The capital injection is intended to advance OpenAI’s research initiatives and expand ChatGPT’s computational infrastructure, increasingly strained by an exponential rise in users — currently 500 million per week — and their growing demands for computation-intensive tasks. Following a $6.6 billion funding round in October 2024, OpenAI’s new investment marks an unprecedented surge in both financial backing and company valuation, highlighting the growing demand and potential of AI-based solutions.
A part of the investment — $10 billion out of the planned $40 billion — will be disbursed in April, while the remaining $30 billion will be provided by the end of the year. A fraction of this last tranche is contingent on OpenAI’s transition to a for-profit business model by the end of 2025. If this change does not take place, the total investment amount could be halved. OpenAI is still legally a non-profit company, although in practice, it has formed partnerships to raise capital. This is one of the reasons that led co-founder Elon Musk to leave the company due to irreconcilable differences, back in 2018. The strategic and governance shift aims to attract further investment while balancing shareholder interests with the company’s mission to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits humanity.
In partnership with SoftBank and Oracle, OpenAI is also embarking on the ambitious $500 billion Stargate project, aimed at establishing dedicated AI workload data centers in the United States. This initiative will likely strengthen OpenAI’s computational capabilities significantly, facilitating more advanced AI research and deployment.
The successful closing of this round of funding not only reinforces OpenAI’s leadership in the AI space but also signals broader industry recognition of the transformative potential of AI. As OpenAI continues to innovate and expand, the implications of its advancements are expected to resonate across multiple industries, shaping the future of technology and its integration into everyday life.
