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SoftBank Posts Fourth Straight Profit on OpenAI Gains

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SoftBank Group reported its fourth consecutive quarterly profit, buoyed by gains from its investment in OpenAI, even as it increased borrowing to expand its exposure to artificial intelligence.

The company posted a net profit of 248.6 billion yen for the October–December quarter, compared with a net loss a year earlier. A significant portion of the improvement came from the rising valuation of its OpenAI stake, which SoftBank said generated a total investment gain of nearly $20 billion by the end of December.

Founder and CEO Masayoshi Son has committed more than $30 billion to OpenAI, building an ownership stake of around 11% through Vision Fund 2. OpenAI is reportedly seeking an additional $100 billion in funding at a higher valuation, with prospective investors including Amazon and Nvidia.

To finance its AI strategy, SoftBank has relied on asset sales, bond issuance and loans backed by holdings such as chip designer Arm. It has also reduced stakes in companies including T-Mobile and expanded margin loans tied to its Arm and domestic telecom shares. The company’s loan-to-value ratio rose to 20.6% at the end of December, while its cash reserves declined.

As SoftBank deepens its investment in OpenAI, investors increasingly view the conglomerate as a proxy for the AI firm’s performance. While AI enthusiasm has lifted valuations, rising competition and escalating model development costs continue to shape market expectations.

OpenAI, Samsung SDS and SK Telecom to Begin Korea Data Center Build

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OpenAI, Samsung SDS, and SK Telecom are preparing to begin construction of artificial intelligence data centers in South Korea as early as March, according to Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon.

The South Korean government previously said the U.S. startup would form joint ventures with the two Korean firms to develop two facilities with an initial combined capacity of 20 megawatts. The planned infrastructure is intended to support AI model training and deployment, reinforcing South Korea’s role in the global AI supply chain.

SK Telecom confirmed it is in discussions with OpenAI regarding a data center project in the country’s southwest, though the exact timeline for construction remains under review. The collaboration reflects increasing partnerships between U.S. AI developers and Asian technology firms to expand computing capacity amid surging demand.

The initiative comes as major AI companies race to secure power, land, and advanced hardware to support rapidly scaling models. South Korea’s strong semiconductor ecosystem and digital infrastructure make it an attractive base for AI expansion, particularly as governments compete to host next-generation data facilities.

Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon in talks to invest up to $60 billion in OpenAI

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Major technology companies Nvidia, Microsoft, and Amazon are in discussions to invest up to $60 billion in OpenAI, according to a report by The Information. The talks highlight the growing scale of investment required to develop and operate advanced artificial intelligence models.

Nvidia, an existing OpenAI investor whose chips power many of its AI systems, is reportedly considering an investment of up to $30 billion. Microsoft, a long-term backer, is said to be in talks to invest less than $10 billion, while Amazon, which would be a new investor, is discussing a significantly larger commitment that could exceed $20 billion.

The report said OpenAI is close to receiving formal term sheets from the potential investors. Amazon’s participation may be linked to broader commercial negotiations, including expanded cloud infrastructure agreements and the sale of OpenAI products such as enterprise ChatGPT subscriptions. The talks come as OpenAI faces rising costs to train and run its models amid intensifying competition in the AI sector.