AI Crypto Investors Eye SoftBank’s OpenAI Funding as Market Signal

The Japanese multinational conglomerate and premier investment holding company, SoftBank Group, is considering making an additional investment of up to $30 billion in OpenAI. This announcement indicates that investors are confident in investing in the Artificial Intelligence sector. 

The discussion took place when OpenAI was planning to raise $100 billion to expand research, strengthen infrastructure, and seek new talent. Investors are now considering AI as a long-term strategic investment. 

SoftBank Group to Boost Investments in OpenAI 

According to The Wall Street Journal, SoftBank has approximately an 11% stake in the company. The funding was distributed in segments. The first share of $7.5 billion was invested in April 2025, and the final one of $22.5 billion was closed by the end of 2025. 

The new investment deals would strengthen SoftBank Group’s role as one of OpenAI’s largest and leading supporters. Masayoshi Son, CEO of SoftBank Group, is moving from a venture capital model to a high-stakes partnership with OpenAI. Earlier, the company had cut investment in Nvidia to focus on the AI sector. 

Why does OpenAI need such a huge investment? 

This is an era of Artificial Intelligence, and major AI-based companies are setting up advanced models with high computing power. OpenAI plans to use the fund in multiple key areas. One such area is the expansion of AI infrastructure and data centers. The company also plans to continue its research on artificial general intelligence. They want to use the investments for global expansion and enterprise partnerships. Moreover, OpenAI aims to hire and retain impeccable AI researchers. 

According to the sources, OpenAI is exploring major funding from Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds and traditional venture capital firms. It includes the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and MGX. The company is reportedly preparing for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) around the fourth quarter of 2026. According to estimates, it targets a public valuation of $1 trillion. 

SoftBank Focusing on AI-based Projects 

Apart from investing in OpenAI, SoftBank is working on AI semiconductor development. According to Project Izanagi, the conglomerate plans to invest $100 billion to develop custom AI processors. It is expected to challenge Nvidia’s dominance. 

SoftBank-owned Arm is planning to work on a new AI chip. The group is also investing in cloud software developer Oracle to support the Stargate data centre project in the U.S.

Reactions of Crypto Investors 

Once news of SoftBank’s plans to invest in OpenAI came out, several AI cryptos recorded a positive surge. Bittensor (TOA) increased slightly by 0.05% in the last 24 hours and traded at $234.53. Story (IP) also signalled relative strength, and its price surged by $2.8% immediately after the SoftBank news, trading near $2.18. 

The market cap of the overall AI crypto segment has experienced a positive surge, reaching $18.09 billion, increasing by 0.31%. The collective trading volume has also increased by 4.61%. On the other hand, several top AI cryptos have lost their value, like NEAR, ICP, and RENDER. 

SoftBank’s plans to invest in OpenAI had some effect on AI crypto. However, the market remains fluctuating due to rising international trade uncertainty and gold’s price rally. Additionally, SoftBank Group’s stock has risen by 3.7% in Tokyo after this report.