OpenAI ChatGPT. /Yonhap News

OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, is seeking to raise investments of up to $40 billion (57 trillion won).

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 30th (local time), OpenAI is in initial negotiations to raise $400 million, and its valuation could be assessed at $340 billion (591 trillion won).

Japanese SoftBank, led by Chairman Masayoshi Son, is leading this funding round with an investment of between $15 billion (21.6 trillion won) and $25 billion (36.1 trillion won), with the remaining amount expected to come from other investors. Earlier, the Financial Times (FT) reported on the 29th, citing multiple anonymous sources, that discussions were underway for SoftBank to directly invest $15 billion to $25 billion in OpenAI.

OpenAI plans to invest about $18 billion from the funds raised through this investment in the joint venture 'Stargate,' which will be established by SoftBank and American software company Oracle. U.S. President Donald Trump announced on the 21st that OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle would invest at least $500 billion (approximately 718 trillion won) to build AI infrastructure, including data centers in the United States, and establish the new AI company 'Stargate.'

OpenAI's move to attract investments comes about three months after last October. At that time, OpenAI raised $6.6 billion, and its valuation was assessed at $157 billion. Within three months, the funding scale increased sixfold, and its valuation more than doubled.

According to the data provider CB Insights, if this investment round is successful, OpenAI's valuation of $340 billion will make it the second most valuable startup in the world after Elon Musk's SpaceX, a space company. Additionally, this funding round is one of the largest in Silicon Valley's history, surpassing the $10 billion raised by OpenAI from Microsoft (MS) in 2023, according to the WSJ.

Sources said SoftBank is helping to gather investors, but noted that discussions are still ongoing and could collapse.