SoftBank seeks up to $40b loan for OpenAI stake

SoftBank Group Corp. is seeking a US$40 billion bridge loan to mostly fund its investment in OpenAI, people familiar with the matter said.

The facility would have a roughly 12-month tenor and be underwritten by four lenders including JPMorgan Chase & Co., with talks ongoing.

SoftBank Group held about 11% of OpenAI at the end of December.

SoftBank Group’s US$30 billion investment in OpenAI comes on top of more than US$30 billion it had previously invested.

The company has sold assets including its Nvidia Corp. stake and increased the amount of its margin loans secured by mobile unit SoftBank Corp. and chip unit Arm.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

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SoftBank is raising debt after completing its OpenAI funding commitment

SoftBank started looking for a bridge loan after finishing its OpenAI funding commitment, which sources said SoftBank has fully paid, according to CNBC 1.
To fund the deal, SoftBank sold its entire US$5.8 billion Nvidia stake and borrowed US$11.5 billion against its Arm Holdings shares, CNBC reported 1.
SoftBank also sold US$2.9 billion in long-dated subordinated hybrid bonds. The money is set aside for its AI push, including Stargate plus possible bets such as OpenAI 2.

The loan fits a broader, high-stakes race to fund AI

SoftBank’s borrowing sits within an industry-wide buildout race. Amazon, Google, and Microsoft plan more than US$320 billion in combined 2025 spending on AI plus data centers, based on executive comments and earnings calls 3.
Some analysts warn the spending looks excessive. AI investment could reach US$1 trillion or more while total AI revenue is estimated below US$50 billion, which feeds bubble concerns 4.
The market also encourages circular financing. Microsoft backs OpenAI, while OpenAI commits to Microsoft as its cloud provider, which raises questions about incentives plus the strength of reported growth 4.