SoftBank is seeking $5 billion loan to invest in OpenAI, plans to use Arm shares as collateral — rapid AI expansion continues, investment could top $30 billion

SoftBank is arranging a new $5 billion margin loan to invest in OpenAI and use its shares in Arm Holdings as collateral, reports Bloomberg. The move will enable the company to increase its stake in OpenAI and/or invest in the company's infrastructure, while taking the company's total borrowing against Arm shares to $18.5 billion.

The Japanese investment company is said to be negotiating with several international banks to finalize the deal, which will be collateralized by Arm stock. The company had already tapped $13.5 billion in margin loans from Arm shares by March 2025, with $5 billion still unused at that time, which gives it some flexibility to expand its credit base further.

The approach is not uncommon for SoftBank, as it is usual practice for the company to draw cash from its most valuable asset rather than sell equity. Arm's shares were up 38% this year, which gives Softbank more collateral room.

SoftBank's campaign to become a dominant force in the AI sector has become increasingly costly. The company joined the $500 billion Stargate project with OpenAI and Oracle to build massive U.S. data center infrastructure early this year, pledged up to $30 billion to OpenAI, purchased ABB's robotics business for $5.4 billion, took over Graphcore for an undisclosed sum, and agreed to purchase Ampere Computing for $6.5 billion.

Bloomberg Intelligence's Sharon Chen estimates SoftBank’s total financing needs could surpass $30 billion, considering the possible purchase of Ampere Computing and other ventures.

The latest borrowing follows a series of large financings tied to the AI push. SoftBank previously arranged $8 billion in margin loans ahead of Arm's 2023 IPO through lenders such as JPMorgan Chase, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, and Goldman Sachs, and later secured a $15 billion one-year loan to fund AI projects in the U.S. Together, these moves have transformed Arm's stock into the group's main source of liquidity.

The analyst warned that these commitments could push the group close to its 25 % loan-to-value threshold, raising concerns about its credit profile. While SoftBank may use asset sales or structured financing to offset risk, its growing demands for cash highlight how heavily its strategy depends on the market value of Arm and the continued strength of AI-related equities. On the one hand, this puts SoftBank at the center of the AI boom, but on the other hand, it also places it at the frontier of its potential instability.

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