New investment puts daylight between OpenAI and Microsoft
OpenAI has raised another $40 billion to fuel its incredible growth but although Microsoft is a contributor Japan’s Softbank has started to make its presence felt.
The maker of ChatGPT, which brings in 1 million new users daily, announces that it now serves 500 million users weekly. The new growth money will be used to expand the software and hardware under its service.
The massive investment comes at a time when Microsoft is gently loosening the reins on its ownership and control of OpenAI, giving it the green light to start courting the capital market.
According to news publication Axios, Softbank accounts for 75% of the $40 billion injection. The rest comes from the purses of Microsoft, Coatue, Altimeter and Thrive Capital.
Why does OpenAI want looser ties with its first major backer? The option to shop around for better deals from service providers.
Within its current structure, OpenAI will have to intensify its use of Azure to meet market demand. In addition, of course, it uses the computing power to train the AI models. Compensation for this flows to Microsoft and Nvidia. CEO Sam Altman, as Next Platform posits, wants to pay less rent to fewer third parties.
Softbank is one of the strategic parties behind The Stargate Project, a US initiative in which participants are investing $500 billion in accelerated, joint construction of AI infrastructure.
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