With a December 31 deadline looming, Masayoshi Son's conglomerate is liquidating assets and leveraging Arm Holdings to cement its position in the AI revolution.
TOKYO/SAN FRANCISCO - In one of the most aggressive financial maneuvers of the decade, SoftBank Group is currently racing against a ticking clock to fulfill a staggering $22.5 billion funding commitment to OpenAI before the year ends. With the December 31 deadline looming, reports indicate that the Japanese conglomerate, led by CEO Masayoshi Son, is engaged in a frenetic array of cash-raising schemes to ensure the capital is delivered on time. This high-wire act represents not just a financial transaction, but a definitive play for dominance in the rapidly escalating artificial intelligence sector.
The massive capital injection is critical for OpenAI as it faces surging compute costs and continues its transition toward a for-profit entity. For SoftBank, failure to meet the deadline could jeopardize its standing in the most consequential technology race of the century. According to sources familiar with the matter, SoftBank is pulling out all the stops, including asset liquidations and margin loans, to wire the funds before the calendar turns to 2026.
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The logistics of assembling $22.5 billion in liquid cash within a short timeframe are complex, even for a giant like SoftBank. Reports from Reuters indicate that the group is executing an array of fundraising strategies. These reportedly include the sale of existing investments in other technology giants, such as Nvidia and T-Mobile, to free up the necessary capital.
Furthermore, financial analysts suggest SoftBank may tap into undrawn margin loans borrowed against its most valuable asset: its majority stake in British chip designer Arm Holdings. This multi-pronged approach underscores the urgency of the situation. While OpenAI has not yet received the remaining funding, sources confirm the company expects the money to arrive by the end of 2025, as strictly stipulated in their contract.
"SoftBank Group is racing against a December 31 deadline to fulfill a massive $22.5 billion funding commitment to OpenAI, a move that CEO Masayoshi Son views as critical to securing his legacy in the artificial intelligence revolution." - TechStory Reports
To understand the pressure of this moment, it is necessary to look at the timeline of events leading to this December crunch:
The backdrop to this funding rush is OpenAI's astronomical rise in valuation. In April 2024, the company was valued at roughly $80 billion. By October 2025, market speculation and implied valuations had ballooned that figure significantly, with recent talks suggesting a capital raise could place the company's value between $750 billion and $830 billion.
Complicating the timeline is OpenAI's corporate restructuring. According to Reuters, OpenAI must complete its transition to a fully for-profit company by the end of the year to secure the full extent of this funding. This structural shift is a prerequisite for investors like SoftBank who require clearer paths to returns on such massive capital outlays.
The successful transfer of these funds will have immediate ripples across the technology sector. First, it cements the relationship between Masayoshi Son and Sam Altman, potentially creating a new axis of power in Silicon Valley that rivals the Microsoft-OpenAI partnership. Second, it provides OpenAI with the war chest needed to procure next-generation hardware as compute costs continue to surge.
For SoftBank, this is a legacy-defining pivot. Having faced criticism for previous investments in the shared-economy sector (notably WeWork), Son has refocused the Vision Fund entirely on Artificial Intelligence. By liquidating stakes in established players like T-Mobile to bet on OpenAI, SoftBank is signaling that it believes the generative AI boom is still in its infancy.
As of December 22, 2025, the market is watching closely. While SoftBank has declined to comment officially on the liquidity maneuvers, the consensus among financial experts is that the funds will likely be secured, albeit through a chaotic finish to the year. If successful, 2026 will begin with OpenAI more capitalized than any startup in history, and SoftBank firmly entrenched as its primary financial engine.
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