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SoftBank completes $41 billion investment in OpenAI, deepening bet on AI

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SoftBank Group said it has completed a $41 billion investment in OpenAI, marking one of the largest private funding rounds ever and giving the Japanese group an ownership stake of about 11% in the maker of ChatGPT.

The move underscores SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son’s increasingly aggressive push into artificial intelligence, which he has described as an “all in” bet. Son is positioning SoftBank to capitalise on booming demand for AI computing power, spanning both software and the physical infrastructure that underpins advanced models.

SoftBank said it completed an additional $22.5 billion investment on Wednesday, following an earlier $7.5 billion injection in April. OpenAI also secured an expanded syndicated co-investment of $11 billion from other backers as part of the round. In March, SoftBank had agreed to invest up to $40 billion into a for-profit OpenAI subsidiary, with the funding structured through a mix of direct capital and syndicated investments.

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The transaction initially valued OpenAI at about $300 billion on a post-money basis. However, a subsequent secondary share sale completed in October pushed OpenAI’s valuation to roughly $500 billion, according to PitchBook data. CNBC first reported the completion of the latest investment earlier in the day.

The deal comes as artificial intelligence has become the central driver of global technology investment, reshaping corporate strategies and investor expectations. OpenAI has emerged as a key beneficiary of that shift, sitting at the heart of an industry-wide surge in AI spending.

OpenAI is also a core participant in “Stargate,” a large-scale, multi-year data centre initiative being developed alongside Oracle and other partners. The project aims to support next-generation AI models and is backed by major investors including SoftBank, further linking the group’s capital deployment to the infrastructure required for future AI growth.

SoftBank to Acquire DigitalBridge in $4 Billion Deal to Strengthen AI Infrastructure Strategy

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SoftBank Group has agreed to acquire digital infrastructure investor DigitalBridge Group in a deal valued at $4 billion, the companies announced on Monday. The acquisition marks another step in SoftBank’s effort to reshape its portfolio around artificial intelligence and the computing infrastructure that supports it.

Under the terms of the agreement, SoftBank will pay $16 per share for DigitalBridge, representing a 15% premium over the company’s closing price on Friday. The offer values DigitalBridge at approximately $2.92 billion, with the transaction expected to close in the second half of next year. Following the announcement, DigitalBridge shares rose about 9.7% to $15.27, extending gains after a 45% rally earlier this month when takeover talks were first reported.

The deal significantly expands SoftBank’s exposure to digital infrastructure assets, including data centers, cell towers, fiber networks, small-cell systems and edge infrastructure. DigitalBridge’s portfolio includes major assets such as Vantage Data Centers, Zayo, Switch and AtlasEdge, positioning the firm as a key player in the backbone of global data and connectivity.

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has repeatedly emphasized the importance of computing power in enabling next-generation AI applications. The acquisition aligns with his broader vision to capitalize on surging demand for data processing capacity driven by artificial intelligence workloads.

Industry reaction was cautiously optimistic. Jacob Yahiayan, CEO of Urban Logistic Advisory Services, an investor in DigitalBridge, described the acquisition as “a milestone in solving critical infrastructure issues,” while noting that SoftBank remains far from controlling a significant share of the global hardware- and software-as-a-service market.

Founded in 1991 as Colony Capital, DigitalBridge shifted its strategy under CEO Marc Ganzi, pivoting away from traditional real estate toward digital infrastructure and rebranding in 2021. Ganzi will continue to lead DigitalBridge as a separately managed platform following the acquisition.

As of September 30, DigitalBridge managed approximately $108 billion in assets, making it one of the largest dedicated investors in the digital infrastructure ecosystem. The company is also involved in the Stargate project, alongside OpenAI, Oracle and Abu Dhabi-based investor MGX, a large-scale computing initiative aimed at supporting advanced AI development.

Nobel Laureate and Tech Giants Form Alliance to Build Mass-Produced Quantum Supercomputers

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Nobel Prize-winning physicist John M. Martinis has teamed up with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and leading semiconductor companies to launch an ambitious initiative to build the world’s first mass-producible quantum supercomputer.

The collaboration, called the Quantum Scaling Alliance, brings together Applied Materials, Synopsys, 1QBit, Quantum Machines, Riverlane, and the University of Wisconsin. Its goal is to transition quantum computing from bespoke, laboratory-scale devices into scalable systems that can be manufactured using the same industrial tools that produce millions of chips for smartphones, laptops, and AI servers.

“Quantum chips have been made in an artisanal way for decades — small batches, one at a time. Now it’s time to move to a standard professional model,” Martinis told Reuters.

Quantum computers exploit qubits, which can exist in multiple states simultaneously, enabling them to perform complex calculations exponentially faster than traditional machines. The alliance aims to overcome one of the key barriers in the field — scaling quantum systems while maintaining stability and error correction.

HPE’s quantum team, led by Masoud Mohseni, is working on the integration of quantum and classical computing systems — a critical step toward achieving large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum machines.

“People think that once you have hundreds or thousands of qubits, you can easily scale to millions. That’s just not true. Each scale brings new challenges,” Mohseni explained.

By uniting expertise in chip manufacturing, software design, and computing architecture, the Quantum Scaling Alliance hopes to create the foundation for commercially viable quantum supercomputers — machines capable of tackling problems in chemistry, medicine, materials science, and cryptography that are currently beyond reach.