SoftBank Deploys Ten Billion Dollars in First Tranche of OpenAI Bet

SoftBank Goes All-In on OpenAI With Record Investment

SoftBank Group has completed the first ten billion dollar tranche of its massive thirty billion dollar follow-on investment in OpenAI, deploying the capital through its Vision Fund 2 on the first of April twenty twenty-six. The move cements what has become the Japanese conglomerate's single largest portfolio bet on artificial intelligence.

The investment is being financed through a forty billion dollar bridge loan secured from a consortium of major banks including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Mizuho Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and MUFG Bank. Two further tranches of ten billion dollars each are scheduled for July and October twenty twenty-six.

Part of a Record-Shattering Funding Round

The deployment comes as part of OpenAI's unprecedented one hundred and twenty-two billion dollar fundraising round, which closed at a post-money valuation of eight hundred and fifty-two billion dollars. Amazon committed fifty billion dollars to the round, while both Nvidia and SoftBank each pledged thirty billion dollars. Additional investors include Andreessen Horowitz, T. Rowe Price, and ARK Invest.

Eyes on an IPO

The structure of SoftBank's financing has drawn significant attention. The bridge loan carries a twelve-month maturity date, suggesting lenders expect OpenAI's long-anticipated initial public offering to materialise later this year. SoftBank will receive preferred shares that convert to common equity upon an IPO.

Once all three tranches are complete, SoftBank's cumulative investment in OpenAI will reach approximately sixty-five billion dollars, giving it a roughly thirteen percent ownership stake. OpenAI is currently generating two billion dollars in monthly revenue, though the company remains unprofitable as it continues to invest heavily in frontier AI development.