Japanese technology group SoftBank is reportedly seeking a loan of up to $40 billion to help finance its growing investment in OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT.
According to Bloomberg, Softbank is discussing a bridge loan with a maturity of around 12 months. The facility is expected to be backed by four lenders, including JPMorgan, which is underwriting the loan.
Talks with banks are still ongoing, and the final terms of the loan could change, the report said.
Increasing stake in OpenAI
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has been increasing the company’s investment in artificial intelligence and has made OpenAI a central part of that strategy.
Reuters previously reported that SoftBank held roughly an 11% stake in OpenAI at the end of last year. The financing discussions come as OpenAI explores potential fundraising and long-term plans for a public listing.
Reuters earlier reported that the company is laying the groundwork for a possible initial public offering that could value it at up to $1 trillion.
More recently, OpenAI said it plans to raise $110 billion in a funding round that could value the company at about $840 billion, with expected participation from investors including SoftBank, NVIDIA and Amazon.
