OpenAI holds warrants in SoftBank Group subsidiary SB Energy now valued at roughly $5.5 billion, according to draft IPO documents reviewed by the Wall Street Journal on Monday.
The disclosure shows how intertwined AI infrastructure financing has become. OpenAI is simultaneously an investor, customer and warrant holder in SB Energy, while Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) is backing the buildout with billions in investment and up to $105 billion in guarantees tied to OpenAI’s leases.
OpenAI Sits on Both Sides of the Deal
SB Energy issued the warrants in January at an estimated value of $3.6 billion. By June 30, they were reportedly worth $5.5 billion.
OpenAI did not receive that in cash. The warrants are expected to vest in stages after SB Energy’s IPO as the company hits valuation milestones.
OpenAI also invested $500 million in SB Energy, alongside another $500 million from SoftBank Group Corp. (OTC:SFTBY), and tapped the firm to build its initial 1.2-gigawatt Texas data center. SB Energy, meanwhile, committed to spend at least $50 million on OpenAI software through 2028.
In short, OpenAI funds its landlord, rents from it, sells services back to it and holds warrants in it.
$400 Billion Backlog, Zero Operating Data Centers
SB Energy has yet to bring a single data center online, but its draft IPO filing reportedly shows nearly nine gigawatts of contracted computing capacity and a backlog topping $400 billion.
That makes its current business look tiny by comparison. The company’s existing renewables operations generated about $140 million in revenue in the first half of 2026.
OpenAI is doing much of the heavy lifting behind that future growth, signing 17 leases this month for roughly eight gigawatts at SB Energy’s planned southern Ohio campus.
Nvidia Puts $105 Billion Behind the Buildout
Nvidia invested $1.5 billion in SB Energy this month, while the Ohio campus will exclusively host Nvidia infrastructure, according to its Aug. 17 filing.
Nvidia also agreed to cover certain losses on OpenAI’s leases for the first 4.25 gigawatts if the AI company can’t pay, with its exposure capped at $105 billion.
The company says each hardware generation deployed at the campus could represent about 1.5 million GPUs and $150 billion to $200 billion in revenue.
Prediction traders remain bullish on Nvidia. Polymarket currently makes the chipmaker the favorite to finish 2026 as the world’s most valuable company.
The scale of Nvidia’s financial backing only adds to the circular financing debate surrounding OpenAI’s AI buildout.
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