Intelligent Stuff News on November 27, according to CNBC, after injecting approximately US$500 million (approximately RMB 3.63 billion) into OpenAI in October this year, Japan’s SoftBank Group once again invested in OpenAI. 1.5 billion US dollars (approximately RMB 10.88 billion).

This financing will be carried out in the form of a tender offer by SoftBank. OpenAI allows former and current employees to sell US$1.5 billion in shares to SoftBank at a price of US$210 per share (approximately RMB 1,522). This must be The price is the same as when OpenAI raised funds in October this year.

According to a person familiar with the matter, OpenAI employees must decide whether to participate in the new tender offer before December 24 this year. According to a person familiar with the matter, the deal was driven by SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son, who insisted on getting more shares in OpenAI after investing in October this year.

SoftBank and OpenAI declined CNBC’s request for comment.

This is Sun Zhengyi’s latest progress in the field of AI investment. In October this year, he revealed that he was saving “tens of billions of dollars” for the next stage of “big moves.” Masayoshi Son believes that the AI ​​craze is not a bubble, and companies such as Nvidia are still undervalued. SoftBank’s Vision Fund Phase II has invested in corporate AI startup Glean, AI search engine company Perplexity.AI, and AI programming software startup Poolside.

According to Reuters, the current investment capital of US$1.5 billion also comes from SoftBank Vision Fund Phase II.

A person close to Masayoshi Son told CNBC that OpenAI is a capital-intensive enterprise, and SoftBank’s investment in OpenAI meets SoftBank’s urgent need to deploy funds.

Even without SoftBank’s deep pockets, OpenAI can easily raise billions in cash. On the 2nd anniversary of ChatGPT’s launch, the company’s valuation has climbed to $157 billion. In October this year, OpenAI completed a $6.6 billion round of financing and received a $4 billion revolving credit line, giving them $10 billion in liquidity.

Previous or current employees of OpenAI can participate in this acquisition offer, but they must obtain and hold OpenAI equity for at least 2 years.

With the IPO market cooling off and company valuations soaring, tender offers have become crucial for employees at technology companies. Such a deal would appease employees and reduce the pressure of an IPO.

Since OpenAI will not be listed immediately and its price is too expensive for potential acquirers, secondary stock sales may become the main channel for OpenAI equity holders to cash out in the future.

In the past, OpenAI has adopted a stricter policy on equity sales, and the company can decide which employees can participate in cashing out. Equity is an important part of OpenAI's salary. Many current and former OpenAI employees said that after the previous non-disparagement agreement between OpenAI and employees was exposed, many employees began to worry about liquidity issues.

OpenAI is expected to allow more stake sales in the future, and may again seek funding from the private market based on investor demand and the business's funding needs, according to a person familiar with this week's takeover bid. .

Source: CNBC