SoftBank is negotiating to invest up to $25 billion in OpenAI, which would position it as the tech giant's largest financial backer, surpassing Microsoft's $13 billion stake. This investment comes amid significant shifts in the AI sector, including SoftBank's recent commitment of $15 billion to the Stargate data center project, a $500 billion initiative involving OpenAI and Oracle. President Trump endorsed Stargate, expecting it to create over 100,000 American jobs. As part of the potential agreement, Microsoft may no longer be OpenAI’s exclusive cloud provider, allowing other partnerships. The financing structure would involve approximately 20% from equity and the remainder through debt. SoftBank's Masayoshi Son has expressed a long-term vision of achieving super-intelligence through this venture, emphasizing its importance for future AI infrastructure dominance. OpenAI recently reached a valuation of $157 billion after raising capital across various funding rounds. However, the heavy debt nature of this investment draws parallels to SoftBank's previous WeWork venture, raising concerns about sustainability.

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