New record for a single loan! SoftBank (SFTBY.US) signs a $40 billion bridge loan to boost OpenAI

Zhitong Finance APP learned that SoftBank (SFTBY.US) signed an unsecured bridge loan agreement totaling up to $40 billion on March 27 (Friday). This funding will support its investment in OpenAI, breaking the group’s historical record for a single dollar loan and highlighting its strategic determination to secure a core position in the global artificial intelligence race. The financing was jointly underwritten by JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Mizuho Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, and MUFG Bank. According to the agreement terms, the loan has a maturity of 12 months. SoftBank stated that it plans to gradually repay this debt over the next year through asset sales and subsequent financing activities.

SoftBank’s latest bet on OpenAI comes after the company had previously injected over $30 billion into the startup. Following this investment, SoftBank’s total investment in OpenAI will reach approximately $64.6 billion, raising its stake to about 13%. Currently, OpenAI is one of SoftBank’s largest holdings, with another major holding being approximately 90% of the shares of chip design company Arm Holdings Plc (ARM.US).

Arm’s stock price has risen over 40% this year, mainly due to its plan to sell its own chips. This is undoubtedly a significant boon for SoftBank, as it holds stakes in hundreds of private startups and has the capacity to fund massive investments in the artificial intelligence sector.

Bloomberg Industry Research points out that with Arm’s decision to sell its own chips, SoftBank’s investment exposure in artificial intelligence semiconductors will increase, and since OpenAI is one of the first buyers, there may be synergies within SoftBank’s artificial intelligence ecosystem. Arm’s business operating model will change as its market expands from pure design to chip sales, with management aiming for annual revenue of $15 billion within five years, up from $5 billion in 2025, although profit margins will correspondingly decrease.

In terms of broader strategic synergy, SoftBank plans not only to establish ties with OpenAI through capital injection but also to engage in deep cooperation in the computing infrastructure sector. SoftBank is currently working on building a large-scale Piketon AI data center campus in Ohio, USA, with an estimated construction cost for the first phase between $30 billion and $40 billion, and OpenAI is expected to be a core tenant.

This “capital + infrastructure” dual bundling aims to create a vertical ecological closed loop covering computing power, models, and applications. However, this large-scale debt issuance has raised concerns among credit rating agencies. S&P Global has downgraded its rating outlook from “stable” to “negative” due to SoftBank’s balance sheet having too much risk exposure to a single asset.