TOKYO, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Japanese technology investor

SoftBank Group logged a net profit of 421.8 billion yen

($2.87 billion) for the April-June quarter.

The result compared with a net loss of 174.3 billion yen for

the same period a year earlier and the 127.6 billion yen average

profit from three analyst estimates compiled by LSEG.

The Vision Fund investment unit posted an investment gain of

726.8 billion yen ($4.94 billion).

The results mark SoftBank's second consecutive quarter of

profit and follow its first annual profit in four years when it

was helped by a strong performance by its telecom holdings and

higher valuations for its later-stage startups.

The results will be welcomed by investors as SoftBank has

embarked on its biggest spending spree since the launch of its

Vision Funds in 2017 and 2019, this time making mammoth

investments in artificial intelligence companies.

Investors and analysts are awaiting updates on how these

investments will be financed, the timeline for returns to

materialise and whether assets will be sold to fund the new

projects.

SoftBank is leading a $40 billion funding round for ChatGPT

maker OpenAI. SoftBank has until the end of the year to fund its

$22.5 billion portion, although the remainder has been

subscribed, according to a source familiar with the matter.

It is also leading the financing for the Stargate project -

a $500 billion scheme to develop data centres in the United

States, part of its effort to position itself as the "organiser

of the industry," founder Masayoshi Son said in June.

SoftBank has yet to release details on what kinds of returns

its financing of the Stargate project could generate. The extent

of third-party investment will determine what other financing

tools, such as bank loans and debt issuance, it may have to

deploy.

In July, SoftBank raised $4.8 billion by selling off a

portion of its holding in T-Mobile.

($1 = 147.0600 yen)