SoftBank seeks $10 billion margin loan backed by OpenAI shares: Report

SoftBank Group is seeking a $10 billion loan secured by its shares in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI as it takes on more debt for its push into AI, ‌Bloomberg News ⁠reported ⁠on Wednesday, citing sources.

The loan underscores the ​Japanese investment conglomerate's increasingly aggressive bet on ​artificial intelligence, following years in which SoftBank swung between outsized gains and ​heavy losses in ⁠its Vision ‌Fund.

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The two-year margin loan ​would ​carry an option for SoftBank ⁠to extend the borrowing by an ​additional year, the report said.

Reuters ​could not immediately verify the report. OpenAI and SoftBank did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

The development follows a $40 ‌billion bridge loan that SoftBank secured in March to bolster ​investments in ​OpenAI ⁠and for general corporate purposes as it continues to strengthen ties with the AI ​firm.

The Japanese investor has previously agreed to invest $30 billion in OpenAI through its Vision Fund 2.