Why is SoftBank raising $10B loan backed by OpenAI stake?

SoftBank Group is seeking to raise as much as $10 billion through a margin loan backed by its shares in OpenAI, according to Bloomberg News.

The development comes as Masayoshi Son’s group leans further on debt to finance its artificial intelligence push.

The proposed borrowing would run for two years and include an option for SoftBank to extend it by another year, Bloomberg said, citing people familiar with the matter.

A SoftBank representative declined to comment.

The planned facility would mark another sizeable financing move tied to OpenAI, which has become the centrepiece of SoftBank’s latest investment strategy.

A margin loan allows companies to borrow against assets such as stock, and in this case the collateral would be SoftBank’s holdings in the US artificial intelligence company.

The structure underlines the group’s willingness to use balance-sheet leverage to deepen its exposure to the AI boom.

Loan terms take shape

Bloomberg said the proposed package would be arranged as a two-year margin loan, with an option to extend the borrowing for one more year.

That gives SoftBank some flexibility on timing while limiting the immediate need to refinance if market conditions become less supportive.

The report did not specify pricing, lender commitments or the terms of any extension.

Even so, the outline is enough to show how aggressively SoftBank is pursuing fresh capital as it builds out its AI ambitions.

The company has already tested lenders’ appetite for large OpenAI-linked financings, and the new proposal suggests that effort is widening rather than easing.

Broader OpenAI funding drive

The latest plan comes only weeks after SoftBank sought a separate loan of as much as $40 billion, mostly to help finance its investment in OpenAI.

More banks were later invited to join that financing in what Bloomberg described as a “soft launch”, highlighting the scale of creditor support needed for the group’s debt-fuelled AI expansion.

SoftBank also said in March that it had signed a $40 billion unsecured bridge loan to fund its OpenAI investment and related expenses.

Taken together, those moves show how central OpenAI has become to SoftBank’s strategy and how heavily the Japanese group is willing to borrow to maintain that position.

The proposed margin loan would sit alongside that broader funding effort, giving the company another source of firepower as it chases AI-related opportunities.

Why markets will watch it closely

Using OpenAI shares as collateral would be notable because the asset is closely tied to one of the most closely watched names in artificial intelligence.

That makes the proposed borrowing significant not just for SoftBank’s balance sheet, but also as a signal of how lenders are valuing exposure to AI-linked assets in private markets.

The deal, if completed, would add to scrutiny of whether SoftBank can keep expanding its AI bets without taking on undue refinancing and collateral risk.