SoftBank is in talks to invest up to $25 billion in OpenAI as part of a broader partnership that could see the Japanese conglomerate spend more than $40 OpenAI is in talks to raise up to $25 billion from SoftBank amid DeepSeek shock.

The biggest investment so far in the ChatGPT maker would help cover its commitment to the Stargate AI infrastructure venture.

SoftBank is in talks to invest up to $25 billion into ChatGPT owner OpenAI and become the AI firm's largest financial backer, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, as the Japanese conglomerate continues to expand into the sector.

OpenAI itself has been accused of building ChatGPT by inappropriately accessing content it didn't have the rights to.

DeepSeek is causing havoc throughout the AI industry. U.S.-based tech companies that have heavily invested in AI saw their stocks take a tumble this week after the China-based startup released a new AI model on par with OpenAI's latest model, yet much cheaper to train — plus, DeepSeek made it free and open source.

OpenAI has accused Chinese AI start-up DeepSeek of using its proprietary models to train an open-source competitor.

Microsoft-backed artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether OpenAI has launched ChatGPT Gov, a tailored version of ChatGPT designed for U.S. government agencies, it said in a blog post on Tuesday. OpenAI said the agencies can deploy ChatGPT Gov in their own Microsoft Azure commercial cloud,

OpenAI's new AI chatbot is an expansion on its flagship ChatGPT product. The new tool, ChatGPT Gov, is specifically for use by U.S. government agencies.

The news comes a week into the new presidency, as Big Tech leaders including Sam Altman have been eager to work with Trump. OpenAI on Tuesday announced a new ChatGPT system for U.S. government workers that it calls more secure than its Enterprise offering.