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SoftBank Closes $11.87 Billion Loan to Back OpenAI Investment, Beating $10 Billion Target as Stock Falls 11 Percent on AI Slowdown Fears
Sources: SoftBank loan details via Bloomberg, Japan Times, and Crypto Briefing. Stock price decline via Qz, CNN, and Seoul Economic Daily. Loan repayment announcement via Bloomberg and Spokesman-Review. Investment timeline and credit rating via Japan Times and Crypto Briefing. AI slowdown context via multiple outlets covering Amodei essay and CEO statements.
SoftBank Group secured an $11.87 billion two-year loan from approximately 20 banks last week to support its investment in OpenAI, exceeding the initial $10 billion target, according to Bloomberg citing people familiar with the matter. The facility adds to a wave of debt financing tied to SoftBank's OpenAI bet, including a $10 billion margin loan backed by its OpenAI stake secured in August 2026 and a potential bond offering of $10 billion to $20 billion currently under consideration with investors in New York this week, Bloomberg and Japan Times reported. SoftBank announced September 9 that it would repay the remaining $25.9 billion balance on a $40 billion bridge loan obtained earlier in 2026 on September 15, bringing total financing activity tied to OpenAI to more than $60 billion as founder Masayoshi Son positions the conglomerate at the center of the AI infrastructure buildout. SoftBank shares fell approximately 10 to 11 percent in Tokyo trading Monday following the weekend call by Anthropic, OpenAI, and SpaceX CEOs to slow AI development, reflecting investor concern that a deliberate pacing of frontier model progress could delay revenue growth and extend the timeline for OpenAI's path to profitability, directly affecting the valuation underlying SoftBank's heavily leveraged stake. The company, which plans to invest nearly $65 billion in OpenAI by October according to Bloomberg calculations, carries a BB-plus credit rating, one notch below investment grade, and the margin loan backed by OpenAI shares includes valuation covenants that could trigger repayment obligations if OpenAI's assessed value declines significantly. For markets tracking AI infrastructure capital, the sharp stock reaction illustrates how quickly investor sentiment on AI timelines can translate into balance sheet pressure for the most exposed backers. SoftBank's financing structure is built around OpenAI's continued exponential growth trajectory; a coordinated industry slowdown introduces exe