OpenAI closes $40B funding round, valuing ChatGPT maker at $300B

Takeaways from the Key Takeaways

• OpenAI has received up to $40 billion from investors led by SoftBank Group. The ChatGPT maker is now valued at $300 billion.
• OpenAI will not receive the whole amount pledged by SoftBank if it fails to transform itself into a for-profit company "by the end of 2025, or in certain circumstances, early 2026."
• SoftBank has made an initial payment of $10 billion. SoftBank will only invest another $10 billion if OpenAI does not restructure to become a for-profit company.

OpenAI has received up to $40 billion from investors led by SoftBank Group. The ChatGPT maker is now valued at $300 billion.

The investment enables the startup "to push the frontiers of AI research even further, scale our compute infrastructure, and deliver increasingly powerful tools for the 500 million people who use ChatGPT every week," OpenAI said.

OpenAI Must become a for-profit firm by the end of the year to receive full pledge

OpenAI, backed by Microsoft (MSFT), will not receive all the money pledged if it fails to become a for-profit business “by the end 2025 or, in certain circumstances, as early as 2026.”

SoftBank, which "is planning to syndicate out" $10 billion of the up to $40 billion total to co-investors, is making an initial $10 billion payment. It will only invest another $10 billion if OpenAI does not restructure as a for-profit company.

In January, Donald Trump revealed that Oracle (ORCL) and the companies had formed a partnership to build AI Infrastructure in the U.S. The companies have said that they will invest $100 billion at first, and up $500 billion over the course of the next four-years, in an initiative called Stargate.