The Japanese conglomerate's largest dollar-denominated borrowing ever assembles a who's-who of global banking to fuel its AI ambitions.
SoftBank has secured a $40 billion unsecured bridge facility, its largest dollar-denominated borrowing ever, with 21 lenders now on board to fund a $30 billion follow-on investment in OpenAI through Vision Fund 2.
The facility, which matures on March 25, 2027, was arranged to support a $30 billion follow-on investment in OpenAI through SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2. The remaining $10 billion is earmarked for general corporate purposes.
The banking roster and the money trail #
The lead arrangers include JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Mizuho Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and MUFG Bank. Sub-underwriters that joined include HSBC, BNP Paribas, and Intesa Sanpaolo, among others, bringing the total lender count to 21.
SoftBank drew down $10 billion on April 1, 2026, just days after the facility was formalized on March 27. Two additional $10 billion tranches are scheduled for July 1 and October 1 of this year, creating a steady drip of capital flowing into OpenAI over three quarters.
Why a bridge loan and why now #
The bridge facility structure is inherently temporary. A 12-month maturity means SoftBank needs a plan to either refinance this debt, sell assets, or raise equity before March 2027. SoftBank committed to the follow-on investment on February 27, 2026. The $30 billion figure represents one of the largest single investments ever made in a private technology company.
The JPY equivalent of the facility sits at roughly 6,384 billion yen. For perspective, SoftBank’s entire Vision Fund 2 was initially sized at around $56 billion, meaning $30 billion of a $40 billion facility is being directed into a single company.
What this means for investors #
The 21-lender syndicate distributes credit risk across major global banks, touching balance sheets from Tokyo to London to New York. The remaining tranches deploy through the second half of 2026 as the March 2027 maturity approaches.
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