Hua Er Jie Jian Wen·2025-12-20 03:55Core Insights - SoftBank Group and its founder Masayoshi Son are aggressively raising funds to fulfill a massive investment commitment to OpenAI, totaling $22.5 billion, with a deadline set for the end of this year [1][5] - The urgency of this funding push highlights SoftBank's ambitions in the AI sector and reflects the significant capital pressures faced by top global dealmakers in the trillion-dollar AI infrastructure race [1][2] Fundraising Strategies - SoftBank is employing multiple strategies to secure the necessary funds, including liquidating assets, utilizing its balance sheet, and leveraging debt instruments [2] - Key asset disposals include the complete sale of its $5.8 billion stake in Nvidia and a $4.8 billion reduction in its holdings of T-Mobile US [1][2] Focus on OpenAI - Investment managers at SoftBank's Vision Fund have been instructed to shift their focus entirely to the OpenAI deal, indicating the strategic importance of this investment [3] - SoftBank plans to take its payment application PayPay public, with an anticipated IPO in the first quarter of next year, potentially raising over $20 billion [3] Leveraging Arm Holdings - A significant source of funding for SoftBank comes from margin loans secured against its holdings in Arm Holdings, with the loan capacity recently expanded by $6.5 billion, bringing the total available financing to $11.5 billion [4] - The tripling of Arm's stock price since its IPO provides SoftBank with substantial additional collateral without needing to sell this core asset [4] OpenAI's Valuation Surge - The urgency to complete the funding is driven by OpenAI's soaring valuation, which has reportedly increased to nearly $900 billion since SoftBank's initial investment agreement in April, which was based on a $300 billion valuation [5] - This new funding is critical for OpenAI as it faces rising costs associated with training and operating AI models, with CEO Sam Altman stating a goal of investing $1.4 trillion to build 30GW of computing capacity [6]