SoftBank Group, led by Chairman Masayoshi Son, has resumed negotiations with financial institutions to secure a 10 billion dollar (approximately 15 trillion won) loan backed by its stake in OpenAI, Reuters reported on July 1 (local time), citing multiple sources.

The lending consortium is expected to include Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Mizuho Financial Group.

SoftBank previously pursued this loan earlier this year, but it faced difficulties after banks rejected the proposal, citing insufficient collateral value.

The primary hurdle was that OpenAI is a private company, making its shares difficult to value and lacking liquidity, which poses a significant risk to banks should the share price decline.

In response, SoftBank has added a payment guarantee as a condition for the new deal.

If successful, SoftBank plans to use the funds to finance further investments in artificial intelligence.

SoftBank also secured a 40 billion dollar bridge loan in March to support its investment in OpenAI.

While the valuations of major AI companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic have soared over the past few years, financial institutions remain cautious about providing loans collateralized by private shares, according to Reuters.

Under Chairman Son's leadership, SoftBank has been aggressively investing in the AI sector, with reports indicating that its investments in AI infrastructure, including participation in the Stargate data center project, exceed 60 billion dollars.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)