OpenAI raises $40B at $300B valuation, SoftBank leads investment
OpenAI, the team behind ChatGPT, has secured a huge $40 billion investment led by SoftBank, with Microsoft and major investment firms such as Thrive Capital, Coatue, and Altimeter joining in.
This puts OpenAI's value at $300 billion—making it one of the biggest private tech fundraises ever.
Stargate project is the focus of this funding round
The cash is fueling OpenAI's Stargate project, which is all about massively upgrading AI computing power.
The plan: reach up to 10 gigawatts of compute capacity by 2029 (almost 7 GW already underway in new US data centers with Oracle and SoftBank).
Stargate also includes a partnership with NVIDIA that could reach up to $100 billion in value to help handle the growing demand from over 500 million weekly ChatGPT users.
The Stargate project now covers nearly all of OpenAI's work
Estimated infrastructure spending through 2029: around $115 billion.
The Stargate project now covers nearly all of OpenAI's work on AI chips and data centers—a major leap for powering next-gen AI tools.