SoftBank Group is seeking up to $40 billion in financing to support its massive bet on OpenAI, which would become the largest pure dollar borrowing in the company's history. This move further highlights founder Masayoshi Son's strong desire to position SoftBank as a core hub in the global AI wave.
According to media reports, SoftBank is negotiating a bridge loan of approximately 12 months with banks, with JP Morgan and three other institutions participating in the underwriting. Negotiations are still ongoing, and details may still be adjusted. Both JP Morgan and SoftBank spokespeople declined to comment.
The scale of this borrowing has intensified market observers' concerns about SoftBank's financial stability. Just this week, S&amp;P has downgraded SoftBank's credit outlook, citing that the investment in OpenAI could harm its liquidity and asset credit quality.
SoftBank currently holds about 11% of OpenAI's shares, which, along with the chip design company Arm, has become one of SoftBank's most important core assets. This layout closely ties SoftBank's stock performance to the competitive landscape of ChatGPT against Google's Gemini and Anthropic's Claude.
<h2>The largest dollar borrowing in history, JP Morgan and three banks jointly underwrite</h2>
According to Bloomberg, citing informed sources, the bridge loan that SoftBank is seeking could reach up to $40 billion, primarily to fund its equity investment in OpenAI. If finalized, this would be SoftBank's largest pure dollar-denominated borrowing ever.
The loan term is approximately 12 months, with four banks, including JP Morgan, taking on underwriting responsibilities. Informed sources requested anonymity as the matters involved are private discussions. Negotiations are still ongoing, and final terms have yet to be determined.
Bloomberg reports that SoftBank's investment in OpenAI is not limited to the planned $30 billion; it has previously injected over $30 billion into the startup, resulting in a remarkable total bet.
Masayoshi Son's bet on OpenAI is seen as a continuation of his earlier investments in Alibaba and ByteDance—but at a much higher price. To provide ammunition for this wager, SoftBank has been gradually selling off its holdings, including those in Nvidia.
SoftBank currently also holds about 90% of its shares in Arm, another heavyweight asset. Overall, SoftBank's stock performance has become highly dependent on OpenAI's market performance and valuation expectations.
<h2>Credit under pressure, S&amp;P downgrades outlook, AI bubble concerns persist</h2>
This week, S&amp;P downgraded SoftBank's credit outlook, citing that its investment in OpenAI could put pressure on liquidity and the credit quality of its asset portfolio.
Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Sharon Chen pointed out that SoftBank's $30 billion investment in OpenAI further drags down its credit status, leaving very limited room under S&amp;P's 35% adjusted loan-to-value (LTV) threshold. Since 2025, SoftBank has relied on debt financing and asset sales, cumulatively providing over $70 billion for AI investments, resulting in a heavy debt burden and a decline in portfolio quality
Sharon Chen also pointed out that the uncertainty of the macro environment and concerns about the AI bubble pose risks to SoftBank's LTV ratio and affect the timeline for the key positive catalyst of OpenAI's IPO. The volatility of SoftBank's bonds is expected to persist, with supply pressure and market risk aversion likely to widen credit spreads.
<h2>Diversified Layout Intensifies Debt Demand, Leverage Scale Continues to Rise</h2>
In addition to OpenAI, SoftBank has recently engaged in multiple investments, further increasing its funding needs. SoftBank, in partnership with OpenAI, invested $1 billion in infrastructure company SB Energy to support the construction of data centers in the United States; at the same time, it spent approximately $3 billion to acquire private equity firm DigitalBridge Group Inc. Last year, SoftBank also acquired American chip designer Ampere Computing LLC for $6.5 billion and proposed to acquire ABB Ltd.'s robotics business for $5.4 billion.
To support its continuously expanding investment landscape, SoftBank has increased the scale of margin loans secured by its mobile subsidiary SoftBank Corp. and chip subsidiary Arm. Bloomberg Intelligence noted that SoftBank could raise over $10 billion from the sale of publicly listed tech stocks other than T-Mobile and Arm, and also benefit from financing channels in the yen market, but overall debt pressure remains significant

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SoftBank Group plans to raise $40 billion to support its massive investment in OpenAI, which could become its largest dollar loan in history. Masayoshi Son aims to establish a core position in AI by heavily investing in OpenAI and Arm, but S&P has downgraded its credit outlook due to concerns over liquidity and debt pressure. As leverage rises and AI investment exceeds $70 billion, SoftBank is facing challenges to its financial stability while pursuing AI dominance

- SoftBank Group is seeking up to $40 billion in financing to support its significant investment in OpenAI, which could be its largest dollar loan ever.  
- The company is negotiating a 12-month bridge loan with four banks, including JPMorgan, amid concerns about its financial stability and recent credit outlook downgrades from S&P.  
- SoftBank's aggressive investments, including previous funding for OpenAI, have created a heavy debt burden and heightened risks related to the uncertainty in the AI market.

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Borrowing money to invest! SoftBank plans to raise a record $40 billion to invest in OpenAI