OpenAI said on Monday it would raise up to $40 billion in a new funding round led by SoftBank Group at a $300 billion valuation to advance AI research, expand computational infrastructure and enhance its tools. The Japanese tech investment group said in a statement that it has agreed to fund OpenAI with $10 billion in mid-April and an additional $30 billion in December, contingent on the AI firm transitioning to for-profit by the end of the year. SoftBank plans to syndicate out $10 billion of its total investment to other co-investors it did not name. A person familiar with the matter told Reuters that the remainder of the funding would come from Microsoft, Coatue Management, Altimeter Capital and Thrive Capital.