SoftBank secures $12B loan for OpenAI investment

SoftBank Group just took out an $11.87 billion loan to fund its investment in OpenAI, overshooting a previously reported $10 billion target by nearly 20%. The Japanese conglomerate, led by Masayoshi Son, continues to stack chips on the table in what has become one of the most aggressive corporate bets on artificial intelligence in history.

The loan is the latest in a string of financing maneuvers designed to let SoftBank pour capital into OpenAI without having to sell off other assets.

The $64.6 billion AI obsession

The company has committed approximately $64.6 billion to OpenAI as of early 2026, accumulating roughly a 13% ownership stake in the process.

The spending spree accelerated in March 2026, when SoftBank secured a $40 billion unsecured bridge loan. About $30 billion of that went directly into a follow-on investment in OpenAI as part of a broader funding round that valued the AI firm at approximately $730 billion pre-money.

That round totaled roughly $110 billion, making it one of the largest private funding events ever.

By August 2026, the company had added another layer: a $10 billion margin loan backed by its OpenAI shares, with Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan among the lenders.

Managing the debt stack

By September 2026, the company announced plans to prepay $25.9 billion of the remaining balance on its bridge loan, scheduled for September 15.

SoftBank’s credit rating currently sits at BB+, which is one notch below investment grade.

The margin loan backed by OpenAI shares includes valuation covenants, meaning a significant decline in OpenAI’s assessed worth could trigger repayment obligations or forced selling at precisely the wrong moment.

Son’s track record and the Stargate factor

Masayoshi Son has a well-documented history of making concentrated bets on technology companies. Some have been spectacular successes, like the early Alibaba investment that turned $20 million into tens of billions. Others, like the Vision Fund’s backing of WeWork, became cautionary tales about the dangers of conviction untethered from fundamentals.

SoftBank’s involvement extends beyond just writing checks to OpenAI’s treasury. The company is also engaged in Stargate, a high-profile AI infrastructure initiative that further cements its role in the generative AI ecosystem.

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