OpenAI employees to sell $1.5b in shares to SoftBank

OpenAI, owned by ChatGPT, is permitting its employees to sell around $1.5 billion in shares to SoftBank Group of Japan, two sources told Reuters on Wednesday.

SoftBank’s CEO, Masayoshi Son, is keen on increasing his stake in the start-up after investing in the previous funding round, as reported by CNBC.

The AI start-up backed by Microsoft received $500 million from a Japanese conglomerate in a $6.6 billion funding round in October, valuing the company at $157 billion.

OpenAI employees have until Dec. 24 to opt into the new funding round, with the offer price matching the previous round. The investment will be made by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2.

Sources, who requested anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media, declined to comment. SoftBank and OpenAI also declined to provide a statement.

Son has been actively seeking to increase his conglomerate’s involvement in the AI industry, investing in OpenAI and purchasing chip startup Graphcore.

He recently said that he was saving up funds “so I can make the next big move,” but did not provide any details about his investment plans.

OpenAI’s rapid growth in product popularity and valuation has captivated the world. ChatGPT has amassed 250 million weekly active users since its launch.

Attribution: Reuters

Subediting: M. S. Salama