SoftBank, which sources say is in talks to invest $15B-$25B in OpenAI and $18B in Stargate, could borrow against its $140B+ Arm stake to fund the investments
Japanese conglomerate is in talks to spend up to $43 billion to boost the ChatGPT developer — In his newly built palace near Tokyo …
SoftBank could turn part of its Arm holding into borrowing capacity to pursue the reported OpenAI and Stargate commitments, increasing its financial exposure to both the developer and its infrastructure plans.
OpenAI and Stargate would gain a potential source of concentrated funding, contingent on SoftBank completing the investments and related financing.
Second-order effects
Using Arm shares as collateral would make the value and financing terms around that stake more consequential to SoftBank’s capacity for further AI investment.
The pairing of OpenAI funding with Stargate funding would press competing AI platforms and infrastructure projects to secure capital that can support both model development and compute deployment.
Third-order effects
If repeated, this model shifts frontier-AI funding toward asset-backed and structured financing rather than standalone equity rounds, concentrating more influence with investors that control major liquid technology holdings.
It also links AI investment cycles more tightly to collateral values and credit conditions; that can expand available capital in strong markets while increasing balance-sheet sensitivity when conditions reverse.
The trend: This is one data point in the financialization of AI infrastructure, where ownership stakes in technology assets are used to fund model and compute expansion.
I LOVE Masayoshi Son. The entire generative AI market is potentially collapsing and he's screaming “BET IT ALL ON RED” [embedded post]
@trappercreek
@trappercreek on bluesky
Market cap couldn't possibly grow faster than Sam Altman's ego, could it?
@timothydardar
@timothydardar on bluesky
No thanks, I'll take the free version from China [embedded post]
@transylvaniantwist
@transylvaniantwist on bluesky
Imagine what that money could do if invested in childhood education. Or subsidizing childcare? Or career training programs for non-college grads.
@jcl68nyr
Klendathu Baraka Nickatnite on bluesky
Even after deepseek? Huh
@onodacapital
Hiroo Onoda on x
$25B at $340B post [image]
@garymarcus
Gary Marcus on x
Warning: Masa's proposed doubling of OpenAI funding seems to me like an effort at building a monopoly that will stifle innovation elsewhere. That may ultimately further erode the US lead in AI, if he is betting on the wrong horse, and more innovative startups are priced out of
@firstadopter
Tae Kim on x
The funniest irony is primary reason Masa has the financial wherewithal to invest in Stargate/OpenAI, funding these massive GPU clusters, is global regulators blocked his deal to sell Arm to Nvidia on the cheap. Otherwise, the upside ($100 billion+) would have accrued to Nvidia.
@buccocapital
@buccocapital on x
OpenAI = $340B Salesforce = $330B I'm sure Benioff will handle the news just fine [image]
@garymarcus
Gary Marcus on x
WeWork was a bargain!
@wholemarsblog
@wholemarsblog on x
but but deepseek...
@tmnxeq
@tmnxeq on x
OpenAI targeting a casual $40bn fundraise, more than doubling it's valuation since last Oct 🤡
@silvermanjacob
Jacob Silverman on x
Just got shown up by DeepSeek for a fraction of the cost but the answer is more money, more compute, and allying with Trump.
r/singularity
r on reddit
OpenAI in Talks for Huge Investment Round Valuing It Up to $340 Billion | SoftBank would lead $40 billion round for the ChatGPT maker, some of which would go to Stargate AI infrastructure venture