Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group secured a $40 billion bridge loan to bolster its investments in OpenAI and for general corporate purposes, the company announced last week. The loan, which is unsecured, will mature in March 2027 and was organized with major lenders such as JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Mizuho Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, and MUFG Bank, according to a report by Reuters.
SoftBank had previously committed to investing $30 billion in OpenAI through its Vision Fund 2. Under the leadership of founder Masayoshi Son, the company is strengthening its relationship with the creator of ChatGPT amidst growing competition in the generative AI industry.
Son has been taking more assertive positions in AI following fluctuations in SoftBank’s Vision Fund performance over the years, as highlighted in the Reuters report. Both SoftBank and OpenAI were supporters of the Stargate Project last year, which aimed to inject up to $500 billion over four years into US AI infrastructure.
