SoftBank has taken out $40 billion in new loans to cover its $30 billion investment commitment in OpenAI as part of the AI model maker’s record $110 billion financing last month, the Japanese conglomerate said on Friday.
The most notable thing is that the loan is unsecured and has a maturity of 12 months, so you have until next year to repay or refinance. This could be a sign that lenders believe OpenAI’s highly anticipated public listing will actually happen later this year, as some outlets like CNBC have reported. The loans are provided by JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and four Japanese banks.
OpenAI’s IPO would be one of the largest listings ever, so if it happens this year, perhaps SoftBank will have the liquidity to repay its debt in such a short period of time. SoftBank’s new $30 billion investment in OpenAI brings its total investment in the ChatGPT maker to more than $60 billion.
