Alphabet is making equity fundraising a key AI battleground. That presents a headache for Son, who has committed $64.6 billion for a 13% stake in Sam Altman’s OpenAI. If and when the ChatGPT maker goes public, will the liquidity tap have gone dry?
SoftBank Group Corp overtook Toyota Motor Corp as Japan’s most valuable company this week. But it might not be big enough for the existential IPO arms race that founder Masayoshi Son is finding himself in.
Google parent Alphabet Inc announced after Monday’s market close that it was raising US$80 billion ($102.5 billion) through a myriad of equity offerings. The proceeds will be used to fund investments in its artificial-intelligence compute infrastructure to meet unprecedented customer demand, the company said in a statement. During its first-quarter earnings call, Alphabet said its 2026 capital expenditures are expected to reach as much as US$190 billion, doubling last year’s, and will be significantly higher in 2027.
