SoftBank seeks $10 billion OpenAI‑backed loan and plans US AI compute rentals

SoftBank Group has reopened negotiations with a consortium of lenders, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Mizuho, for a $10 billion margin loan backed by its stake in OpenAI. To address lenders' concerns about valuing the private‑company collateral, SoftBank will guarantee repayment, giving banks recourse to the firm if the pledged shares fall in value. The loan follows earlier attempts that were stalled and comes as SoftBank faces a March 2027 deadline to repay a $40 billion bridge loan linked to its AI investments.

Separately, SoftBank and its telecom subsidiary plan to lease AI computing resources to U.S. companies starting next fiscal year. The move is part of a broader $100 billion AI infrastructure strategy that includes massive GPU purchases, a planned €45 billion (potentially €75 billion) investment in French data centers, and the acquisition of Ampere Computing for $6.5 billion. CEO Masayoshi Son aims to deploy up to one billion AI agents by 2025, and SoftBank reported its first profit in four years, driven by its AI‑focused portfolio.