Investing.com-- SoftBank Group Corp (TYO: 9984 ) shares rose sharply in early trading on Wednesday, after the company announced its participation in a major artificial intelligence (AI) partnership with OpenAI and other technology giants.

The partnership, part of a $500 billion initiative dubbed "Stargate," aims to develop advanced AI infrastructure and energy facilities in the United States over the next four years, the company said.

SoftBank shares climbed 7.5% to JPY 9,941.0 on Wednesday.

The initiative includes prominent players such as Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL ), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT ), and NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA ), alongside OpenAI.

It will focus on building extensive data centers and renewable energy projects in Texas, supporting the growing computational needs of cutting-edge AI models. OpenAI, known for its revolutionary chatbot GPT-4, is expected to leverage the new infrastructure to scale its operations globally. OpenAI said in a statement.

SoftBank, which manages the $100 billion Vision Fund, has consistently sought to position itself at the forefront of transformative technologies. Analysts see this partnership as a critical opportunity for SoftBank to strengthen its AI portfolio, following challenges faced in other sectors

Softbank (OTC: SFTBY ) CEO Masayoshi Son will be the chairman of the new company formed under the partnership.