SoftBank All-In on OpenAI? "Pursuing $40 Billion Bridge Loan for Investment"

Four Financial Institutions, Including JPMorgan, to Lead Bridge Loan Arrangement

There have been reports that SoftBank Group of Japan is seeking to arrange a bridge loan of up to $40 billion (approximately 59 trillion won), primarily to support its investment in the American big tech company OpenAI. Analysts say that Masayoshi Son, Chairman of SoftBank Group, has essentially adopted an "all-in" strategy on OpenAI in order to secure a leading position in the artificial intelligence race.

According to Bloomberg News on March 5 (local time), citing sources, four financial institutions, including JPMorgan Chase, will lead this bridge loan, which will have a maturity of about 12 months.

SoftBank Group Chairman Masayoshi Son (left) and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shake hands at an event held in Tokyo, Japan on February 3, 2025. Photo by Yonhap News

Last month, OpenAI secured new investments totaling $110 billion (approximately 160 trillion won), of which $30 billion is to be provided by SoftBank. SoftBank has decided to deliver the investment in installments at three-month intervals starting in April.

Once the investment is completed, SoftBank's stake in OpenAI will increase from the current 11% to around 13%. Previously, SoftBank is known to have raised funds by selling assets such as its stake in Nvidia.

Bloomberg interpreted that this bridge loan, which would be the largest based on SoftBank's net dollar-denominated borrowing, reflects Chairman Son's determination to become a central player in the global AI boom. Currently, SoftBank also holds a 90% stake in ARM, a semiconductor design company, in addition to its stake in OpenAI.

Meanwhile, SoftBank is pouring money into a wide range of AI-related investments beyond Sam Altman's startup. SoftBank and OpenAI jointly invested $1 billion in SB Energy, an infrastructure company working to build data center infrastructure in the United States.

SoftBank has also agreed to pay approximately $3 billion in cash to acquire DigitalBridge, a private equity fund and data center operator. Last year, it acquired US semiconductor design firm Ampere Computing for $6.5 billion and submitted a $5.4 billion bid to acquire the robotics division of Switzerland's ABB.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.