OpenAI receives $5.5 billion in SB Energy warrants as part of 20-year power lease deal

Aug 31, 2026

OpenAI has received SB Energy warrants valued at $5.5 billion as part of a deal to secure the AI firm as an anchor tenant. OpenAI committed to a 20-year lease at SB Energy's planned 10-gigawatt data center campus in Ohio, supported by a $105 billion lease guarantee from Nvidia. The transaction highlights a highly circular investment structure, with SoftBank, Nvidia, and OpenAI holding interconnected financial stakes in the buildout ahead of SB Energy's planned $50 billion IPO.

OpenAI warrant receipt

▪The SB Energy warrants were granted to OpenAI in January 2026 at an initial valuation of $3.6 billion before appreciating by $1.9 billion by the end of June 2026.
▪SB Energy offered the $5.5 billion warrant incentive to secure OpenAI as an anchor tenant for its planned data center campuses.
▪OpenAI was issued warrants in power and data center infrastructure firm SB Energy that were valued at an estimated $5.5 billion as of June 2026.

Twenty-year Ohio lease

▪Nvidia invested $1.5 billion in SB Energy and agreed to provide a guarantee of up to $105 billion to help OpenAI lease the Ohio data center campus.
▪SoftBank Group and OpenAI are the planned tenants in three SB Energy data centers, including a 1.2-gigawatt facility in Texas.
▪OpenAI committed to a 20-year lease at SB Energy's planned 10-gigawatt data center campus in southern Ohio, which is targeted to begin operations in 2028.

Circular AI investment structure

▪OpenAI and SoftBank Group each invested $500 million into SB Energy in the same period the warrants were awarded to OpenAI.
▪SoftBank Group has committed more than $64 billion across OpenAI equity, joint SB Energy investments, and the Stargate project.
▪Nvidia has been in talks to guarantee $250 billion of OpenAI data center debt in Ohio and has weighed a separate $3 billion investment in SB Energy.

SB Energy IPO plans

▪SB Energy is preparing for an initial public offering, targeting between $5 billion and $7 billion in proceeds, potentially as early as September 2026.
▪OpenAI is expected to hold a single-digit percentage stake in SB Energy after the infrastructure firm completes its initial public offering.
▪SB Energy could seek a valuation of more than $50 billion in its upcoming initial public offering.

AI infrastructure financing challenges

▪Oracle's $16.3 billion data center financing package required PIMCO to anchor $10 billion after United States banks stepped back from the deal.
▪SoftBank Group signed a $40 billion bridge loan facility in March 2026 to fund its financial commitments to OpenAI.