SoftBank CEO says he's 'all in' on OpenAI, reveals he's long wanted Microsoft's spot as main backer

SoftBank is "all in" connected OpenAI, CEO Masayoshi Son said connected Friday, arsenic the Japanese tech elephantine looks to recognize its imaginativeness of "artificial superintelligence."

This year, the Japanese multinational conglomerate has been expanding its investments successful OpenAI and participating successful associated ventures specified arsenic the $500 cardinal Stargate project. 

According to Son, SoftBank is present "all in" connected the artificial quality company, with full planned investments successful the institution reaching astir 4.8 trillion Japanese yen ($33.2 billion), contempt it being unlisted and unprofitable.

"I deliberation that OpenAI volition beryllium listed yet and, successful my belief, volition go the astir invaluable institution successful the world," Son said. He added, however, that it "takes bravery to invest" successful specified a company. 

As it turns out, Son has agelong held that conviction. During the shareholders' meeting, helium revealed that earlier 2019, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had asked him if SoftBank would put $10 cardinal into the company.

"I said, yes, I would ... I was superior due to the fact that I had fiscal resources acknowledgment to Vision Fund's performance. But obviously, Sam talked to different imaginable investors, and eventually, they picked Microsoft," helium said.  

Microsoft yet inked the deal, which made it the exclusive supplier of computing powerfulness for OpenAI's research, products, and programming interfaces for developers. However, Microsoft lost its status arsenic OpenAI's exclusive unreality supplier astatine the commencement of this year.

And that narration present appears to beryllium connected rocky footing. According to caller reports, Microsoft hasn't approved an OpenAI restructuring plan that would crook it into a much accepted for-profit company.

Touching upon the reports, Son suggested that Altman should person chosen SoftBank, not Microsoft, arsenic its archetypal partner, though helium noted that SoftBank was smaller astatine the clip and that Microsoft had its planetary proviso chains, method talents and marque worth to offer. 

SoftBank has antecedently stated that it could reduce its information of its $30 cardinal concern successful OpenAI's latest backing circular successful March to $20 cardinal if it doesn't restructure into a for-profit entity by Dec. 31.

However, connected Friday, Son said that his condemnation connected OpenAI has lone grown stronger and that SoftBank volition proceed to deepen its narration with the company, careless of what happens with Microsoft. 

Part of Son's content successful OpenAI stems from his tendency for SoftBank to beryllium astatine the halfway of "artificial superintelligence," which helium has described arsenic AI that is 10,000 times smarter than humans. 

Son said connected Friday that helium wants SoftBank to go the biggest level supplier for this ASI wrong the adjacent decade, serving arsenic the "organizer of the manufacture successful the artificial superintelligence era." 

He added that SoftBank's concern with OpenAI, on with British semiconductor institution Arm, which SoftBank acquired successful 2016, would beryllium indispensable to those plans.

SoftBank has been progressively assertive successful its AI-related investments, which included an acquisition of U.S.-based chips decorator Ampere for $6.5 billion earlier this year.

Bloomberg News reported past week, citing radical acquainted with the matter, that Son is besides considering establishing a $1 trillion concern analyzable successful the U.S. that volition make AI.