Softbank pursues US$16b to fund AI: The Information

The news: SoftBank Group plans to borrow USD16 billion ($25.8 billion) to invest in artificial intelligence, the company's executives told banks last week, according to sources cited by The Information.

The numbers: Sources told the outlet that the company may also borrow an additional USD8 billion in early 2026. The news follows SoftBank’s recent agreement to borrow USD18.5 billion leveraging its stake in Arm Holdings as collateral, and will use some of the loan to refinance existing debt.

Last month CEO Masayoshi Son pledged to invest USD30 billion in OpenAI, among other investments, as part of President Trump’s ‘Stargate’ announcement at the White House. The Stargate project is a joint venture by Oracle, OpenAI and SoftBank, that plans to invest up to USD500 billion to keep the US ahead of China in the global AI race.

The context: SoftBank executives told banks during a conference call last week the USD16 billion loan would finance part of its investment in OpenAI and part of its planned acquisition of chip design firm Ampere. The Information reports that the execs also discussed potential future investments, such as more AI deals and data centre acquisitions in the US and Europe, as well as nuclear power and other energy-related deals in the US.