SoftBank Subsidiary Backed by NVIDIA and OpenAI Files for IPO

[Financial News] SB Energy, a subsidiary of Japan’s SoftBank Group, is pursuing an initial public offering to expand its U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) data center business. NVIDIA and OpenAI are participating through investments and long-term contracts.
On the 1st (local time), SB Energy announced that it had filed a registration statement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a Nasdaq listing. The number and price of the shares to be offered have not yet been determined. According to The Wall Street Journal, the target fundraising amount is $5 billion to $7 billion (approximately 6.9 trillion to 9.6 trillion won), and the listing could take place as early as this month.
SB Energy is expanding its AI data center business in Texas and Ohio. The capacity of data centers under contract or under construction totals 8.8 gigawatts (GW). Its power generation projects amount to 5.5 GW.
The core project is the Potts Pike data center in Pike County, Ohio. Its first phase alone will have a capacity of 4.25 GW. It is scheduled to come online in stages from 2028 to 2030.
NVIDIA and OpenAI are participating in the project. NVIDIA will provide a residual value guarantee of up to $105 billion (approximately 143.9 trillion won) to support SB Energy’s financing. OpenAI will lease the completed data center for 20 years.
The two companies will also make direct investments. NVIDIA plans to purchase $1.5 billion (approximately 2.055 trillion won) worth of SB Energy shares at the offering price when the IPO is completed. It has agreed to invest an additional $1.5 billion afterward.
OpenAI has secured the right to purchase 3.99 million newly issued SB Energy shares. SoftBank and OpenAI each invested $500 million (approximately 690 billion won) earlier this year.
[email protected] Hong Chae-wan Reporter