Via softbank.jp
SoftBank plans record ¥1T bond sale to fund OpenAI investments
The Japanese conglomerate is tapping household savings at an unprecedented scale to bankroll its $60 billion-plus bet on artificial intelligence
SoftBank Group is preparing to sell ¥1 trillion in retail bonds in Japan, roughly $6.3 billion, making it the largest bond issuance by any entity in the country’s history. The proceeds will fuel the company’s increasingly massive investment in OpenAI, which has now surpassed $60 billion in total commitments.
The 7-year bond is expected to price on September 4, with an indicative coupon rate between 4.3% and 4.9%. With Japan’s benchmark 10-year government bond rate sitting at multi-decade highs, the broader environment has made fixed-income products more attractive to retail buyers.
A funding machine running on overdrive
This isn’t even SoftBank’s first retail bond rodeo this year. It’s the third.
The company sold ¥418 billion in bonds in April, followed by another ¥260 billion tranche in June. Adding the new ¥1 trillion offering, SoftBank will have raised roughly ¥1.68 trillion from Japanese retail investors in 2026 alone.
Beyond the bond market, SoftBank has also arranged a $40 billion unsecured bridge loan maturing in March 2027. That facility supports both the OpenAI investments and related infrastructure development.
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The OpenAI bet keeps getting bigger
SoftBank’s total commitments to OpenAI now exceed $60 billion. Through its Vision Fund 2, the company is targeting an ownership stake of approximately 11% to 13% in OpenAI.
In February 2026, SoftBank announced a $30 billion commitment to OpenAI, structured in three equal tranches of $10 billion each.
S&P Global Ratings upgraded SoftBank’s outlook to stable from negative on July 16, citing significant improvement in key financial ratios.
The $40 billion bridge loan maturing in March 2027 adds a time pressure element. SoftBank will need to either refinance that facility, pay it down with proceeds from other sources, or convert it into longer-term debt. The retail bond strategy appears to be part of that broader refinancing puzzle, spreading the debt load across a wider investor base and extending maturities.