OpenAI is reportedly in discussions to raise up to $40 billion in a new funding round, potentially pushing its valuation to $340 billion. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, SoftBank is expected to lead the investment, contributing between $15 billion and $25 billion to the artificial intelligence company and a part of it will go into Stargate AI infrastructure venture.This development comes amid growing competition in the AI space, particularly from China-based DeepSeek, which has been making headlines in the market. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently hinted at significant advancements in the company’s collaboration with Microsoft. In a post on the social media platform X, he stated that the “next phase” of the partnership would surpass expectations.
next phase of the msft x oai partnership is gonna be much better than anyone is ready for!! pic.twitter.com/LL6rUDDy50
— Sam Altman (@sama) January 28, 2025
OpenAI’s last funding round took place in October 2023, when it secured investment at a $157 billion post-money valuation. If the current talks are successful, OpenAI could surpass some of the highest-valued startups globally. At present, ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, holds the top position with a valuation of approximately $225 billion, followed by SpaceX at around $200 billion.
