SoftBank has taken out an unsecured $40 billion bridge loan to fund its $30 billion commitment to OpenAI's mega-round.
The move pushes SoftBank's total investment in the ChatGPT maker past $60 billion.
The details
Six banks arranged the financing: JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs on the US side, plus Mizuho, SMBC and MUFG from Japan.
Term: 12 months, due March 2027. Unsecured.
The loan primarily covers SoftBank's $30 billion share of OpenAI's $110 billion funding round from February, the largest private raise in history. SoftBank now holds an estimated 13% stake in OpenAI.
Masayoshi Son is running an all-in strategy on AI: In December 2024, alongside then President-elect Trump, he announced $100 billion in US AI infrastructure investments over four years.
A centerpiece: the Stargate project, a joint venture with OpenAI for data centers that could scale to $500 billion.
SoftBank's stock sold off on the news. Markets are increasingly worried that Son is overextending the balance sheet.
Why the loan term tells the whole story
Twelve months for $40 billion, no collateral: That only makes sense if the banks believe in a concrete liquidity event. Multiple reports indicate OpenAI is preparing an IPO in Q4 2026, at a current valuation of roughly $500 billion.
For SoftBank, that would be the exit mechanism: An OpenAI IPO would make the loan easily refinanceable. If the listing gets delayed or the valuation drops, Son is sitting on a $40 billion problem with no safety net. The banks are betting alongside him that it works out.
Sources: TechCrunch, Bloomberg, Japan Times
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