SoftBank Profits Surge on $25B Gain From OpenAI Stake

TOKYO — SoftBank Group reported a $25 billion gain on its OpenAI stake, driving surging profits for the Japanese investment conglomerate, according to the Financial Times.

The unrealized gain reflects OpenAI’s rapid valuation appreciation as the ChatGPT maker has become one of the most valuable private technology companies in the world. SoftBank, led by Masayoshi Son, has emerged as one of OpenAI’s largest investors after committing billions to the AI lab through a series of funding rounds.

The $25 billion gain marks a turnaround for SoftBank’s investment portfolio, which suffered steep losses in prior years from bets on companies like WeWork. Son has increasingly pivoted the firm’s strategy toward artificial intelligence, describing it as the defining technology of the coming decades.

SoftBank’s gains come amid a broader surge in AI valuations across the industry. OpenAI has raised capital at progressively higher valuations as demand for its generative AI products has grown among consumers and enterprises alike. The company’s valuation has been reported at well above $100 billion in recent funding rounds.

The financial results highlight the scale of institutional capital flowing into the U.S. AI sector, where a handful of leading labs — including OpenAI, Anthropic and Google DeepMind — are attracting tens of billions of dollars in investment. SoftBank has also committed to AI infrastructure spending in the United States through the Stargate project, a joint venture with OpenAI focused on building data centers.

For SoftBank shareholders, the OpenAI stake has become a key asset in the company’s Vision Fund portfolio, comparable in scale to returns the firm realized from its early investment in Alibaba Group.

Competition from Chinese AI firms and open-source alternatives has intensified as U.S. AI valuations continue to rise.