- SoftBank Group is arranging a $10 billion margin loan secured by its OpenAI shares.
- The two-year facility includes an option to extend for one additional year.
- Investors have already expressed interest in swapping the debt for OpenAI equity stakes.
SoftBank Group Corp. is looking to pull $10 billion—about 1.36 trillion yen—from its OpenAI holdings without actually selling them.
The Japanese conglomerate has approached banks about a margin loan backed by its equity in the ChatGPT maker, according to people familiar with the plans who spoke to Bloomberg. The move mirrors SoftBank’s classic private-market playbook: borrow against illiquid assets, keep the upside, and figure out the exit later.
The loan comes as Masayoshi Son’s firm positions itself as the go-to gatekeeper for AI infrastructure. SoftBank is already leading OpenAI’s gargantuan $40 billion Project Stargaze initiative to build out AI data centers across the United States. The company’s Vision Fund reportedly pocketed $33 billion from its OpenAI investment last year alone—not bad for a stake that cost around $30 billion. But Son never leaves gains on the table for long, and this margin facility would free up fresh capital for whatever deal he’s eyeing next.
The mechanics are straightforward but loaded with risk. SoftBank pledges its OpenAI shares as collateral, receives $10 billion in cash, and promises repayment within two years with an option to push it to three. The real question is what happens if OpenAI’s valuation stumbles. Margin calls force asset sales at the worst possible time, and SoftBank has danced that dance before. When WeWork’s valuation cratered, similar facilities helped drive the company toward its eventual bankruptcy.
Why OpenAI Shares Make Tempting Collateral
OpenAI raised $110 billion in February in the largest private funding round ever recorded, with SoftBank, Microsoft, and NVIDIA splitting the check. The round valued the San Francisco lab at roughly $300 billion, and SoftBank emerged as the lead investor after months of arm-twisting. That stake is now collateral for what amounts to Asia’s richest shopping list. Sources familiar with the talks say SoftBank could use the proceeds for anything from chip acquisitions to data center construction. The company just closed a $6.5 billion Ampere Computing deal, showing it is not sitting idle.
The concentrated risk is hard to ignore. SoftBank has effectively bet the firm on AI infrastructure, with Warren Buffett’s warning still fresh—he called the sector’s debt load a potential trigger for “another 2008.” SoftBank’s leverage doesn’t just magnify the upside. If OpenAI hits regulatory headwinds, product delays, or a sudden valuation repricing, that $10 billion becomes a forced seller’s fire sale. For now, the loan remains in early discussions with no banks publicly attached.
The financing would be SoftBank’s largest secured facility in five years and represents the final act of Son’s transition from telecom mogul to AI investment holding company.
