As a result, SoftBank now owns an 11% stake in the company behind ChatGPT.

The investment in OpenAI is part of SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son’s strategy to position the group as a leader in the artificial intelligence market. The Asian holding was among the earliest investors in Nvidia, but in November it sold its entire stake for $5.8 billion.

SoftBank initially invested $7.5 billion in OpenAI in April, raising an additional $11 billion from co-investors. In late December, the company transferred a further $22.5 billion to the startup.

Media outlets report that Sam Altman’s team is preparing for an IPO with a valuation of $1 trillion. Reuters sources expect the filing to take place in the second half of 2026.

A successful public offering would mark a major milestone for OpenAI’s investors, which include Thrive Capital, Abu Dhabi–based MGX, and Microsoft. Microsoft has invested a total of $13 billion in OpenAI; at a $1 trillion valuation, its stake would be worth approximately $270 billion.

Advertising in ChatGPT

At the same time, OpenAI is exploring ways to monetize its massive base of free users, which has reached 900 million weekly users. According to The Information, the company is developing advertising models designed to remain as unobtrusive as possible.

Several integration formats are under consideration:

  • Contextual recommendations: when users ask for advice (for example, on choosing cosmetics), the model could suggest products from partner brands;

  • Deferred display: ads could appear in a side panel or at a later stage of the conversation, once the user is already engaged.

Currently, only about 5% of active users have paid subscriptions. Introducing advertising would allow OpenAI to generate revenue from the remaining users.

It was expected that the gross margin of this business line could be comparable to Meta’s levels (80–85%), and that total revenue from the free segment could reach $110 billion by 2030. This would help offset the operating costs of running AI models.

Altman previously described advertising as a “last resort,” but softened his stance in October, saying he finds it “unpleasant, but possible.” The company has already begun hiring marketing industry veterans and is expanding commercial features such as integrations with Shopify and the Stripe payment system.