OpenAI Helps Drive up Profits for Japanese Backer SoftBank

Japanese conglomerate SoftBank ’s quarterly profits jumped nearly threefold thanks to its stake in OpenAI . The company released earnings Wednesday (May 13) showing its net profit more than tripled to 1.83 trillion yen, or $11.6 billion. SoftBank has invested more than $30 billion in OpenAI and said it had recorded a cumulative $45 billion increase on that stake in the last year, much of it during the fourth quarter.