Investment · Technology / AI
SoftBank to buy up to $1.5 billion of OpenAI shares from employees
- Investor
- SoftBank Group (Vision Fund 2) (Tokyo)
- In
- OpenAI, San Francisco, California
- Value
- $1.5B
- Status
- Reported. Employees had until Dec. 24, 2024 to decide whether to sell.
- Date
- 2024-11-27
OpenAI arranged a tender offer letting current and former employees sell about $1.5 billion of shares to SoftBank's Vision Fund 2, according to a CNBC report citing people familiar with the matter. The price was based on OpenAI's $157 billion valuation from its October 2024 round, in which SoftBank had put in $500 million. Neither company confirmed the deal on the record.
Why it matters
The purchase was an early sign of Masayoshi Son's push to build a large position in OpenAI, which grew in 2025 into SoftBank's lead role in Stargate and its much larger investment in the company.
The terms
Shares were offered at $210 each, the price set by the October 2024 round. Employees had until December 24 to decide whether to sell. The purchase came from SoftBank's Vision Fund 2. Both companies declined to comment.
What followed
In March 2025, SoftBank led a $40 billion funding round in OpenAI at a $300 billion valuation, much larger than this purchase.
Sources
Kakehashi M&A News home
