DeepSeek challenges OpenAI's valuation? Masayoshi Son is not afraid, negotiating an investment of up to $25 billion!
According to reports, Japan's SoftBank Group is in negotiations to invest between $15 billion and $25 billion in OpenAI. If this investment is realized, it could make SoftBank the largest investor in OpenAI, surpassing Microsoft. For OpenAI, this could reduce its reliance on Microsoft and broaden its sources of funding and technology
When Deepseek impacts the global AI industry investment logic, Masayoshi Son intends to prove his optimism with real money.
On Wednesday local time, the Financial Times reported that Japan's SoftBank Group is negotiating to invest between $15 billion and $25 billion in OpenAI. If this investment is realized, it could make SoftBank the largest investor in OpenAI, surpassing Microsoft.
However, since Microsoft has been deeply involved in investing in OpenAI for a long time, it will still maintain a larger equity stake in OpenAI's profitable sectors.
In addition, SoftBank has committed to invest over $15 billion in the "Interstellar Gateway" project, and OpenAI will also invest about $15 billion in the "Interstellar Gateway" project. Part of SoftBank's investment may be used to support OpenAI's commitments in the "Interstellar Gateway" plan.
Currently, Wall Street is still trying to assess who the winners and losers are amid the waves stirred up by DeepSeek. Some view OpenAI as one of the losers, as DeepSeek's progress suggests that large language models (LLMs) may gradually become a commoditized technology.
Robert Maire, an analyst at semiconductor consulting firm Semiconductor Advisors, wrote earlier this week:
"For us, it is clear that DeepSeek is really targeting and impacting OpenAI... OpenAI has always claimed to be the king in the field of AI software and algorithms, while DeepSeek claims to have surpassed it."
SoftBank's decision to make a large investment in OpenAI at this time, analysts say, is a key step for founder Masayoshi Son to realize his vision of "superintelligence"; for OpenAI, this could reduce its dependence on Microsoft and broaden its sources of funding and technology.
Reports indicate that Microsoft has agreed to relinquish its status as OpenAI's exclusive cloud service provider.
However, the investment negotiations are still ongoing, and the final amount may vary. Analysts believe that regardless of the outcome, this marks the entry of the artificial intelligence field into a new capital-intensive development phase, which may accelerate the advancement and application of global AI technology