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MoneyThe story, in brief

SoftBank to borrow over $11 billion in risky bonds for OpenAI stake

$11B in risky bonds. SoftBank is doubling down on OpenAI — and the market is watching the bet.

Reporting by The Decoder 1 min brief
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Capital and the next generation of AI ventures.AI illustration by KeyNews
The KeyNews take

Why it matters

SoftBank's aggressive debt financing for an OpenAI stake signals both the stratospheric valuation of frontier labs and the willingness of mega-investors to lever up on AI bets. This shapes capital availability for the sector.

The key facts

4 to know

  1. $11 billion+ in bond financing

  2. SoftBank funding another OpenAI stake payment

  3. Debt instrument is 'risky bonds' (high-yield/junk-rated debt)

  4. Published September 2026

Go to the source

The Decoderthe-decoder.com

Publisher excerpt: SoftBank plans to borrow more than $11 billion from investors through risky bonds to fund another payment for its stake in OpenAI.
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