SoftBank Group is once again seeking to secure a $10 billion loan backed by its investment in OpenAI, underscoring the Japanese technology conglomerate’s determination to deepen its commitment to artificial intelligence despite growing concerns over debt and the valuation of privately held AI companies. The renewed negotiations highlight both the immense financial demands of the AI race and the increasingly creative financing strategies companies are adopting to remain competitive.
According to people familiar with the discussions, SoftBank has reopened talks with a consortium of lenders that includes Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Mizuho Financial Group after an earlier round of negotiations stalled. Banks had initially expressed reservations about extending a large margin loan secured solely by SoftBank’s stake in OpenAI, citing the challenges of valuing shares in a private company whose stock is not publicly traded.
To overcome those concerns, SoftBank has revised the proposed financing structure by offering an additional repayment guarantee. Under the new arrangement, lenders would not be limited to recovering only the pledged OpenAI shares if their value declined. Instead, they would also have recourse to SoftBank itself, significantly reducing the risk for participating banks. The concession represents a notable shift from the company’s earlier proposal, in which repayment depended primarily on the value of the collateral.
The financing effort is part of a much broader artificial intelligence strategy championed by SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son. Over the past year, the company has committed more than $60 billion to OpenAI and related AI infrastructure initiatives, making it one of the startup’s largest financial backers. Those investments include participation in Stargate, the ambitious data center venture announced alongside OpenAI and Oracle to expand computing capacity for future AI models.
The latest loan negotiations come shortly after SoftBank completed the second $10 billion tranche of its planned $30 billion investment in OpenAI through Vision Fund 2. That transaction further strengthened the strategic relationship between the two companies while reinforcing SoftBank’s position as one of the world’s most aggressive investors in artificial intelligence.
The proposed financing also reflects the enormous capital requirements associated with developing next-generation AI technologies. Building advanced language models and the infrastructure needed to support them requires billions of dollars in spending on semiconductors, data centers, cloud computing, and energy systems. As competition intensifies among leading AI developers, access to large pools of capital has become as important as technological innovation itself.
SoftBank has increasingly relied on debt financing to fund its investment ambitions. Earlier this year, the company explored a $5 billion margin loan backed by shares in Arm Holdings, the British semiconductor designer it controls. The value of Arm has surged amid growing investor enthusiasm for AI-related chipmakers, making it one of SoftBank’s most valuable assets. The conglomerate has also raised billions through bond offerings and bridge loans to finance acquisitions and technology investments.
However, analysts note that loans secured by stakes in private companies present unique challenges. Unlike publicly traded shares, private-company holdings cannot be valued continuously by the market, making them less liquid and more difficult for lenders to assess. That uncertainty has prompted banks to demand stronger safeguards before committing to large financing arrangements involving private AI startups. SoftBank’s willingness to guarantee repayment illustrates how important completing the deal has become.
The renewed negotiations also come against the backdrop of significant upcoming financial obligations. SoftBank faces repayment of a roughly $40 billion bridge loan by March 2027, increasing pressure on the company to secure long-term financing while maintaining sufficient liquidity to pursue its ambitious investment strategy. Successfully arranging the OpenAI-backed loan would provide additional financial flexibility as the company continues expanding its AI portfolio.
