SoftBank is seeking a bridge loan of up to $40 billion to fund most of its planned investment in OpenAI, according to Bloomberg. If completed, it would be the largest dollar borrowing in the Japanese group’s history. The loan would run for about 12 months and four lenders, including JPMorgan, are expected to underwrite it.
SoftBank has already invested more than $30 billion in OpenAI and held about 11% of the company at the end of 2025, Bloomberg reports. The group is preparing a further $30 billion bet. OpenAI recently secured a funding round worth about $110 billion from investors including Amazon, Nvidia and SoftBank, valuing the company at roughly $840 billion. That price tag shows how much capital is flowing into advanced AI models, data centres and specialised chips.
Bloomberg says the size of the borrowing shows how far Masayoshi Son is willing to go to make OpenAI the core of SoftBank’s next big trade. The company has sold assets, including its stake in Nvidia, to raise cash and deepen its position.
Why OpenAI?
OpenAI has become one of SoftBank’s largest holdings, next to its roughly 90% stake in chip designer Arm Holdings. Investment activity in other parts of the portfolio has slowed, making SoftBank’s stock more related to how products such as ChatGPT perform against rivals like Gemini and Claude.
The global contest to dominate AI technology requires vast sums. Training advanced models and building computing infrastructure costs tens of billions of dollars. Companies that control foundational AI systems are expected to command enormous strategic value.
Masayoshi Son has built his reputation on concentrated technology bets, from early investments in Alibaba and ByteDance to the Vision Fund. Bloomberg reports that the scale of the current AI commitment represents a new level of financial concentration. OpenAI is quickly becoming one of the pillars of SoftBank’s investment strategy.
OpenAI is also dealing with a lot at the moment with all the political scrutiny. Speaking at the Morgan Stanley Tech, Media and Telecom Conference in San Francisco, CEO Sam Altman said elected officials, not tech executives, should decide the limits of how AI can be used in national defence. “We have to trust in the democratic process,” he said. “This process is messy. This process has some deep flaws, but it is better than all other systems.”
His comments followed a deal with the United States Department of Defence to use OpenAI’s models in classified settings. Altman later told employees he regretted moving too fast. In a memo he wrote that it looked “opportunistic and sloppy.” Reports say that at the meeting he admitted the move created “very negative PR” and said, “I feel terrible for subjecting you all to this.”
What Are The Risks And Why The Confidence?
The proposed financing brings risk. S&P cut SoftBank’s credit outlook this week, saying the company’s growing exposure to OpenAI could weaken liquidity and hurt the quality of its assets. Large scale borrowing to fund technology investments can amplify returns if the AI boom continues. It also increases financial strain if revenue takes longer to materialise or investor enthusiasm cools.
SoftBank’s stock has more to do with OpenAI’s commercial success. If ChatGPT wins more users and enterprise customers, SoftBank benefits. If competition intensifies, the downside lands directly on its balance sheet.
The confidence comes from position and conviction. OpenAI’s $110 billion funding round and $840 billion valuation show intense demand for AI infrastructure and software. SoftBank appears convinced that control over advanced AI models and computing systems will define the next phase of technology leadership. Taking on up to $40 billion in short term debt shows it is prepared to accept concentrated risk in exchange for that prize.
