SoftBank Group completes another $10 billion payment to OpenAI

2026-07-01

Another $10 billion paid in

SoftBank Group (SBG) said on the 1st that it had paid an additional $10 billion, or about 1.62 trillion yen, into U.S. OpenAI. The plan to provide an extra $30 billion through its funds will be carried out in three stages, and this was the second payment.

Bridge loan used to fund the payment

The money was covered by a bridge loan from financial institutions. SBG said in March that it had struck an agreement to borrow up to $40 billion from Japanese and U.S. lenders, including three major banks, and that it borrowed $10 billion on July 1 using this credit line.

In February, SBG announced additional investment in OpenAI. In a round that also included U.S. Amazon.com and U.S. Nvidia, it agreed to invest $30 billion at a valuation of $730 billion for OpenAI. Including the funds raised, the company's enterprise value reaches $852 billion.

Total investment to exceed 10 trillion yen

The remaining $10 billion is scheduled to be paid in as late as October 2026, but that could be brought forward if OpenAI goes public. Once the full amount has been paid in, SBG's cumulative investment in OpenAI will total $64.6 billion, or more than 10 trillion yen. Its stake will be about 13%.

OpenAI disclosed in early June that it had filed for an initial public offering, or IPO, in the U.S. It is seen aiming for a market capitalization on the scale of $1 trillion. The company has led the AI boom with its conversational AI ChatGPT, and its weekly active users exceed 900 million.

However, the timing of any listing is unclear. The New York Times reported in late June that OpenAI was considering delaying its listing until 2027. It had initially been expected to go public within the year. Meanwhile, U.S. AI startup Anthropic, whose valuation surpassed OpenAI's in a capital increase in late May, is preparing for a listing within the year.

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