OpenAI Secures About $5.5 Billion in SB Energy Warrants as SoftBank Data Center Firm Races for IPO

TradingKey - On August 30, Eastern Time, OpenAI was granted warrants by SB Energy, according to draft IPO documents cited by The Wall Street Journal. As of the end of June 2026, these warrants were valued at approximately $5.5 billion.

[Source: The Wall Street Journal]

SB Energy is an energy and digital infrastructure company under SoftBank, headquartered in Redwood City, California. The company was previously primarily engaged in developing energy projects such as solar energy and energy storage, and is currently accelerating its expansion into AI data center infrastructure.

SB Energy is currently advancing multiple data center projects. Its largest project is located in southern Ohio, with overall plans supported by approximately 10 gigawatts (GW) of power.

According to the draft IPO prospectus disclosed by The Wall Street Journal, OpenAI previously signed 17 lease agreements in this project, covering approximately 8 gigawatts (GW) of computing capacity; the project is not yet fully completed, and the power supply will include planned natural gas power generation facilities.

In addition, SB Energy has an approximately 900-megawatt (MW) data center project in Scurry County, Texas, for which a customer has not yet been finalized. The Wall Street Journal noted that all of SB Energy's current data center customers have investment relationships with the company.

According to disclosures in the draft IPO prospectus, among the four main data centers the company plans to build, SoftBank Group and OpenAI have already planned to anchor three of them.

OpenAI's partnership with SB Energy began in January 2026. At the time, SB Energy announced that OpenAI and SoftBank each invested $500 million in the company, bringing the total investment to $1 billion.

Meanwhile, OpenAI selected SB Energy to build and operate its 1.2-gigawatt (GW) data center project in Milam County, Texas.

This warrant arrangement is closely linked to SB Energy's upcoming IPO. According to the draft IPO prospectus, OpenAI is expected to hold a single-digit percentage stake in SB Energy after its listing; as SB Energy's valuation rises, the value of these warrants increases accordingly. Meanwhile, SB Energy committed to purchasing at least $50 million of OpenAI software and services by 2028.

SB Energy is currently preparing for a U.S. IPO, targeting to raise approximately $5 billion to $7 billion. The company expects to list as early as September 2026, though the exact timing and terms of the offering remain unfinalized.

From a business model perspective, OpenAI is both an investor in SB Energy and a tenant of its data centers, while SoftBank is both the controlling party of SB Energy's parent company and a major investor in OpenAI.

Under this model, the interests of AI companies, data center developers, and financial backers are mutually intertwined. Whether commercial returns can ultimately be realized remains to be seen, depending on data center construction progress, the implementation of long-term leases, and SB Energy's valuation and pricing in its IPO.