Story
SoftBank Shares Drop 5.6% After Finalizing OpenAI Investment
Summary
Shares of SoftBank Group fell sharply in Tokyo trading after the Japanese technology conglomerate completed a $10 billion final investment tranche in OpenAI, bringing its total stake to $64.6 billion.
SoftBank Group (TYO:9984) shares declined significantly on Friday after the company confirmed it had completed the final tranche of its follow-on investment in artificial intelligence firm OpenAI. The move concludes a major capital injection that has drawn investor scrutiny over its scale and financing.
By 01:34 ET (05:34 GMT), SoftBank's Tokyo-listed shares were down 5.6% to 6,329.0 yen.
Investment Details
SoftBank announced on Thursday that its Vision Fund 2 had invested a further $10 billion in OpenAI. This represents the final part of a $30 billion follow-on investment plan that was first announced in February.
According to the company, this latest infusion brings SoftBank's cumulative investment in the AI leader to $64.6 billion. The conglomerate's resulting ownership interest in OpenAI now stands at approximately 13%.
AdFinancing and Strategy
The final tranche was funded with proceeds from an issuance of foreign-currency-denominated senior notes that SoftBank announced last week. The company also stated it had cancelled the remaining $10 billion of an undrawn $40 billion bridge facility, which has now been fully repaid.
The investment underscores founder Masayoshi Son's aggressive strategic pivot towards artificial intelligence, with OpenAI representing one of the group's largest and most significant bets. However, the substantial capital required to fund these ventures has been a point of concern for investors, as reflected in the market's reaction to the announcement.
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