SoftBank completes $30 billion OpenAI investment with final $10 billion tranche

SoftBank Group executed the third and final tranche of its follow-on investment in OpenAI on October 1, Japan time. The final $10 billion was paid through SoftBank Vision Fund 2, completing the $30 billion commitment it announced in February.

Three tranches, $64.6 billion

SoftBank split the investment into three tranches of $10 billion each. Its cumulative investment in OpenAI now totals $64.6 billion, with an ownership stake of about 13%. The company funded the final tranche with proceeds from the foreign currency-denominated senior notes it issued in late September. Channel NewsAsia reported that the $11.1 billion offering was the largest high-yield corporate bond sale globally.

Bridge facility repaid in full

SoftBank signed the bridge facility agreement, with total capacity of $40 billion, in March. Effective September 30, it canceled the remaining $10 billion of undrawn capacity under the facility. After the early repayment announced in early September, all borrowings under the agreement have been repaid and no undrawn commitments remain.

OpenAI's funding round

OpenAI raised $122 billion in commitments earlier this year in a round that valued the Sam Altman-led company at $852 billion. Amazon, NVIDIA and SoftBank anchored the fundraising. The Information reported that NVIDIA also made its final $10 billion investment and completed its own $30 billion commitment. SoftBank, led by founder Masayoshi Son, has become one of OpenAI's biggest backers.

Sources: SoftBank Group · Channel NewsAsia