OpenAI has secured a massive funding round worth $40 billion, valuing the company at $300 billion. The investment was led by Japanese group SoftBank and will help push the boundaries of artificial intelligence research further. According to CEO Sam Altman, the funding will enable OpenAI to make AI more useful in everyday life.
The deal sees SoftBank invest $10 billion initially, with an additional $30 billion by 2025 if certain conditions are met. The Japanese company will provide 75% of the funding, while Microsoft, Coatue Management, Altimeter Capital, and Thrive Capital will contribute the remaining amount.
Altman stated that ChatGPT has gained over a million users in just one hour since its new image generation feature was launched, accompanied by a viral obsession with recreating Studio Ghibli-style art. The company is now preparing to launch an “open weight” model that can be fine-tuned by users, marking a shift towards open-source AI models.
This move comes as OpenAI faces growing competition in the open-source space from companies like DeepSeek and Meta, whose models are freely available and can be adjusted. Altman acknowledged that open models were initially viewed as riskier, but now sees it as crucial to adapt AI to specific goals.
The development has sparked concerns about data security, with large companies and governments hesitant to use AI models they have no control over. However, Meta’s recent success with its Llama model, which hit 1 billion downloads, demonstrates the potential of open-source AI.
As ChatGPT continues to gain popularity, OpenAI’s efforts to make AI more accessible will likely shape its future direction.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/apr/01/openai-raises-up-to-us40bn-in-deal-with-softbank