JPMorgan Posts Strong Q4 Revenue Growth Amid Market Rally 
Baidu’s AI Chip Unit Kunlunxin Prepares for Hong Kong IPO to Raise Up to $2 Billion 
Wall Street Banks Plan to Sell $3 Billion of Elon Musk’s X Debt 
Bank of America Clients Pour $1.1B into US Equities Amid Sector Shifts 
Why your retirement fund might soon include cryptocurrency 
Mercedes-Benz to Launch Advanced Urban Self-Driving System in the U.S., Challenging Tesla FSD 
China’s Growth Faces Structural Challenges Amid Doubts Over Data 
Baidu Shares Surge as Company Plans Kunlunxin AI Chip Spin-Off and Hong Kong Listing 
AMD Unveils Next-Generation AI and PC Chips at CES, Highlights Major OpenAI Partnership 
Cathay Pacific Shares in Focus as Air China Plans Major Stake Reduction 
Do investment tax breaks work? A new study finds the evidence is ‘mixed at best’ 
SK Hynix Shares Hit Record High as AI Memory Demand Fuels Semiconductor Rally 
Lenovo Unveils AI Cloud Gigafactory With NVIDIA and Launches New AI Platform at CES 2026 
Gold Hits Record High as Investors Eye Fed Chair Powell’s Speech on Tariffs 
Barclays Invests in Stablecoin Clearing Firm Ubyx to Advance Digital Money Strategy 
Elliott Investment Management Takes Significant Stake in BP to Push for Value Growth 
SoftBank Group Corp. (TYO:9984) is reportedly in talks to invest up to $25 billion in OpenAI, potentially becoming the AI startup’s biggest financial backer, according to the Financial Times. While the exact investment amount remains uncertain, the deal underscores SoftBank’s aggressive push into artificial intelligence.
The discussions come after the launch of Project Stargate, a $500 billion AI infrastructure initiative involving OpenAI, SoftBank, and other major U.S. tech firms. SoftBank and OpenAI are each set to contribute $15 billion to the project, with any additional investment making SoftBank OpenAI’s largest shareholder after Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), which first backed OpenAI in 2019.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has been vocal about expanding AI investments, spanning energy, chip manufacturing, and robotics. The company already holds a stake in AI development through its ownership of British chip designer Arm Holdings (NASDAQ:ARM) and has expressed interest in building its own generative AI models.
The news follows the debut of DeepSeek R1, a Chinese AI model that claims performance comparable to GPT-4 despite using older hardware and a smaller budget. DeepSeek’s emergence has fueled concerns about escalating AI infrastructure costs, triggering sharp declines in global tech stocks. SoftBank shares have plummeted nearly 12% over the past three days amid these market jitters.
With AI rapidly evolving, SoftBank’s potential investment in OpenAI highlights its strategic bet on the future of artificial intelligence.
