SoftBank становится крупнейшим акционером OpenAI, вложив рекордные $41 млрд Translation: Headline: SoftBank Becomes Largest Shareholder in OpenAI, Investing a Record $41 Billion

The Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group has finalized a deal to invest $41 billion in the AI startup OpenAI, according to a report from CNBC. This investment represents one of the largest private funding rounds in history.

SoftBank now holds an 11% stake in the creator of ChatGPT.

This investment in OpenAI aligns with SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son’s strategy to position the company as a leader in the artificial intelligence market. The Asian firm was among the first investors in Nvidia but sold its entire stake for $5.8 billion in November.

SoftBank initially invested $7.5 billion in OpenAI back in April, raising an additional $11 billion from co-investors. By the end of December, the company provided an extra $22.5 billion to the startup.

Media reports indicate that Sam Altman’s team is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) with a projected valuation of $1 trillion. Reuters sources anticipate the filing to occur in the latter half of 2026.

A successful share placement would be a significant milestone for the startup’s investors, which include Thrive Capital, Abu Dhabi’s MGX, and Microsoft. The latter has invested a total of $13 billion in OpenAI, and at a $1 trillion valuation, its share could reach $270 billion.

Simultaneously, OpenAI is exploring ways to monetize its vast audience of free users, which has grown to 900 million weekly. According to The Information, the company is developing advertising models aiming to keep them unobtrusive.

Several integration formats are under consideration:

Currently, only about 5% of active users have a paid subscription. Introducing advertising would allow for monetization of the remaining users.

It was expected that the gross margin from this initiative would be comparable to that of Meta (80–85%), and total revenue from the free segment could reach $110 billion by 2030. This revenue would help cover the operational costs of running AI models.

Altman previously described advertising as a «last resort,» but in October he softened his stance, stating that he finds it «unpleasant but feasible.» The company is already hiring marketing veterans and developing commercial functionalities like integration with Shopify and the payment system Stripe.

It is worth noting that experts concluded in November that the ChatGPT developer may still be spending more on inference than it earns.