SoftBank has raised a remarkable $40 billion bridge loan to fuel its expanding investment in OpenAI, attracting participation from 21 banks that have taken roughly $7 billion of the lending facility. This massive financing round signals growing confidence among global financial institutions in the AI sector’s growth potential.
The loan, which matures in March 2027 and carries an interest rate near 6.14%, offers SoftBank a 12-month window to refinance or adjust its capital structure while continuing to back OpenAI’s ambitions. Major banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Mizuho, Sumitomo Mitsui, and MUFG led the arrangers, with HSBC, BNP Paribas, and Intesa Sanpaolo joining as sub-underwriters.
Loan Structure and Strategic Moves
The $40 billion facility is split into two parts: $30 billion will be invested directly into OpenAI via SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 as a follow-on injection, with the remaining $10 billion allocated for broader corporate use. SoftBank started drawing the loan in April, with tranches of $10 billion released at intervals through October, a paced approach designed to manage liquidity pressure while staying responsive to OpenAI's evolving valuation, recently estimated at $852 billion during a funding round in March.
Among the prominent lenders, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Singapore’s GIC, and Standard Chartered each committed close to $1 billion, highlighting interest from sovereign-linked and multinational institutions beyond the typical Wall Street circles.
SoftBank’s CEO Masayoshi Son has now committed over $60 billion to OpenAI, reflecting the company’s focus on AI innovation and its expectation of transformative market shifts. This financing move shows how deeply intertwined global banking networks have become with the AI investment supercycle shaping technology today.
