SoftBank weighs up to $20 billion bond sale to help fund OpenAI stake

SoftBank Group is considering a bond sale of up to $20 billion to help fund its multibillion-dollar investment in artificial intelligence company OpenAI, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. A deal at that scale would rank among the largest corporate bond offerings ever mounted to bankroll an AI bet.

The Japanese investment group led by Masayoshi Son has positioned itself as one of OpenAI's most important financial backers, anchoring recent funding rounds and committing capital to large-scale AI infrastructure projects such as the Stargate data-centre buildout. Borrowing in the debt markets to finance an equity position would extend a strategy in which SoftBank's AI ambitions increasingly outrun the cash generated by its existing portfolio.

The report lands amid growing scrutiny of how the global AI boom is being financed. Reuters reported this week that Nvidia faces a "growth test" as investors weigh scrutiny of AI financing structures around its latest chip launch, while analysts have warned that debt-funded AI commitments could amplify losses if revenue growth disappoints.

For credit markets, a $20 billion issuance from a single issuer would test investor appetite for exposure to AI-concentrated balance sheets. Rating agencies and bond investors have repeatedly flagged that conglomerates channelling borrowed money into long-dated, capital-intensive technology bets carry elevated refinancing risk if valuations turn.

SoftBank has not formally announced any offering, and terms including size and timing could change, according to the Bloomberg report. The company did not appear to have publicly commented on the story at the time of writing.

**Sources:** Google News