SB Energy offered OpenAI $5.5 bln in warrants to secure data-center deal - WSJ

OpenAI secured a $5.5 billion investment in SB Energy through warrants, as part of an agreement to make the artificial intelligence company a tenant in the energy firm's data center, according to the Wall Street Journal. The report, citing draft IPO documents, indicated that SB Energy, majority-owned by SoftBank Group, is preparing for an initial public offering that could raise between $5 billion and $7 billion, potentially as early as next month.

The warrants, initially valued at $3.6 billion when granted in January, had increased to $5.5 billion by the end of June. In addition to its investment in SB Energy, OpenAI has invested $500 million and is projected to hold a small stake after the IPO. SB Energy's data center plans currently include SoftBank and OpenAI, with the company recently signing 17 leases covering approximately eight gigawatts of computing capacity at the planned southern Ohio campus.

OpenAI has secured around nine gigawatts of contracted computing capacity, although it currently lacks operational data centers. Its data center unit is expected to have a backlog of contracts exceeding $400 billion. SB Energy has acknowledged its substantial dependence on OpenAI, while Nvidia has committed $3 billion through private transactions related to the IPO.