How Apollo's SoftBank ties unlocked an unprecedented OpenAI bet

SoftBank Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son and OpenAI's chief research officer, Mark Chen, attend an event to pitch AI for businesses, in Tokyo in June. If there's one relationship that illustrates how private credit is enabling some of the most consequential AI investments, it's Apollo Global Management's with SoftBank Group. Since 2021, Apollo has provided and arranged more than $15 billion of debt for SoftBank across multiple deals, people familiar with the matter said, helping to fuel Maysayoshi Son's nearly $65 billion bet on OpenAI. From lending tied to the ChatGPT maker's value to a loan backed by a flagship fund, SoftBank has become one of Apollo's largest corporate borrowers. But Apollo is also beginning to contend with the limits of its SoftBank lending as it takes a more defensive approach to AI investing. How far Apollo can go in bankrolling one of OpenAI's biggest investors is a crucial test for whether private credit will be able to profitably fill gaps in AI financing beyond the reach of traditional lenders.