OpenAI’s listing delay raises stakes for SoftBank’US$36.7B data centre IPO

Uncertainty over OpenAI’s public listing timing is raising pressure on SoftBank’s planned IPO of SB Energy, its US data-centre developer that has yet to bring a facility online. The listing could come in weeks at a ~$50bn target valuation and will test appetite for Masayoshi Son’s AI bet; both OpenAI and Nvidia are expected to own significant stakes in a listed SB Energy. SoftBank has committed more than $60bn to OpenAI; OpenAI’s IPO delay and early talks for a ~$1.2tn private round add balance-sheet and funding uncertainty as Son seeks to bankroll further AI ventures. SB Energy reports US$284.1B backlog of future contracted revenue (vast majority tied to 8.8GW of data-centre capacity, average lease >19 years) — only CoreWeave among third-party compute developers has anything close (>$100bn) — but $357bn of that is expected to be recognised only from 2034; main campus is Ohio (~8GW by 2032), with Nvidia providing US$67.9B guarantee for the initial phase and OpenAI as tenant (plus a Texas site). Near-term H1 revenue was only $138.7mn (mostly solar) with US$356.9M operating loss; IPO reportedly aims to raise $5–7bn while SoftBank keeps a majority, yet building the contracted centres may require >$170bn capex, with equity share targeted ~10% implying further equity/debt raises. Investors flag concentration risk and rich valuation; SoftBank/SB Energy declined to comment; some bankers see $50bn as reasonable; CoreWeave’s post-IPO rebound is cited as optimistic precedent.