SoftBank Plans Record ¥1 Trillion Retail Bond for OpenAI Bet

SB Energy, an energy and infrastructure company controlled by SoftBank Group, is expanding into the power-intensive market for artificial-intelligence data centers. As OpenAI races to secure additional computing capacity, the proposed relationship illustrates how energy supply, project financing and AI infrastructure are becoming increasingly intertwined — and how much prospective vendors may concede to land contracts with the industry’s largest customers.

In late August 2026, reports said SB Energy had offered OpenAI warrants valued at about $5.5 billion as it competed for data-center contracts and prepared for an initial public offering. The arrangement could provide a major source of long-term revenue, but it also highlights risks for prospective IPO investors, including heavy dependence on a single customer and a financing structure supported by guarantees from Nvidia.

Under founder Masayoshi Son, SoftBank Group has made OpenAI central to its AI strategy and committed on March 31, 2025, to invest up to $40 billion. Pledging its privately held OpenAI stake would allow SoftBank to raise funds without selling the shares. However, opaque valuations and limited liquidity could increase risks to its credit ratings and financing costs.

SoftBank was reported on April 23, 2026, to be seeking a $10 billion margin loan. On May 8, it cut the target by 40% to at least $6 billion after some lenders balked. Financing talks stalled again on June 10, when its shares closed 8.33% lower in Tokyo at 6,461 yen. The company is still evaluating other fundraising options and has not secured the loan.

SoftBank Group Chairman Masayoshi Son sees OpenAI as central to the company’s transformation into an AI-focused holding group. As of the end of December 2025, SoftBank had invested more than $30 billion and held a stake of about 11%. Further investment would increase its exposure to a single unlisted asset and raise its financial leverage as funding needs for model development and data centers continue to grow.

In March 2026, SoftBank was in talks for a bridge loan of up to $40 billion with a term of about 12 months, expected to be underwritten by four banks including JPMorgan. The financing would support $30 billion in new OpenAI investment to be disbursed in April, July and October. S&P Global Ratings has revised SoftBank’s credit outlook to negative. Its loan-to-value ratio rose to 20.6% by the end of 2025 and could breach the 25% financial threshold.