SoftBank Shares Fall After $10 Billion OpenAI Investment

SoftBank Group shares dropped sharply on Friday after the Japanese technology conglomerate completed the final portion of its latest OpenAI investment, lifting its total investment in the artificial intelligence company to $64.6 billion.

Tokyo-listed SoftBank Group shares fell 5.6% to 6,329 yen by 01:34 ET (05:34 GMT), as investors continued to assess the scale of the company's spending on artificial intelligence and the financing required to support its strategy.

SoftBank said Thursday that it invested another $10 billion in OpenAI through SoftBank Vision Fund 2. The transaction completes the $30 billion follow-on investment that the Japanese group announced in February.

Following the latest funding, SoftBank's ownership stake in OpenAI has increased to approximately 13%, according to the company. OpenAI has emerged as one of SoftBank's largest investments as founder Masayoshi Son accelerates his push to expand the group's exposure to the rapidly growing AI industry.

SoftBank financed the third and final tranche using proceeds from foreign-currency-denominated senior notes issued last week. The financing structure has drawn attention as investors monitor how the company funds its increasingly large artificial intelligence commitments.

The conglomerate also announced that it had cancelled the remaining $10 billion in unused capacity under a $40 billion bridge financing facility, effective September 30. After making an early repayment earlier this month, SoftBank said all outstanding borrowings under the facility have been fully repaid, leaving no remaining undrawn commitments.

The completed OpenAI investment reinforces Son's strategy of positioning SoftBank as a major investor in artificial intelligence infrastructure and technology. The company has increasingly concentrated resources on AI-related opportunities as it seeks to capitalize on growing global demand for advanced models, computing infrastructure and related technologies.

However, SoftBank's aggressive AI expansion has also placed its balance sheet and financing strategy under greater investor scrutiny. Friday's decline in SoftBank shares highlights continuing market concerns over the enormous capital required to fund its AI ambitions, even as the company deepens its financial ties with OpenAI.