According to Bloomberg, SoftBank is negotiating a so-called bridge loan – a short-term financing arrangement with a repayment period of around 12 months. The loan is expected to be provided by a consortium of banks, including JPMorgan. Discussions with financial institutions are still ongoing, meaning the final terms of the financing could change.
The planned borrowing highlights how strongly SoftBank wants to strengthen its position in the race for dominance in the artificial intelligence sector. The conglomerate led by Masayoshi Son has already invested more than $30 billion in OpenAI and, as of the end of 2025, held roughly an 11 percent stake in the company.
OpenAI has become one of the most important assets in SoftBank’s investment portfolio, alongside the chip designer Arm. To fund its growing AI investments, the company previously sold portions of other holdings, including its stake in Nvidia, redirecting capital toward artificial intelligence infrastructure and technology development.
Such a large commitment to the AI sector has also raised concerns among analysts about the company’s rising debt levels. S&P Global Ratings recently downgraded SoftBank’s credit outlook, noting that aggressive investment in artificial intelligence could increase pressure on the group’s financial liquidity.
SoftBank’s strategy reflects a broader global trend of capital flowing into the AI industry. OpenAI is currently involved in some of the largest funding rounds in technology history, while the development of generative models and computing infrastructure is attracting tens of billions of dollars from major technology investors worldwide.