SoftBank Bets on Satellites and Civil-Service AI While Racing to Retire a $25.9 Billion Bridge Loan
Published on 09/10/2026 at 14:31 | Editorial boerse-global.de
SoftBank Group is pushing ahead on two fronts that have little to do with its headline-grabbing artificial-intelligence wagers: an overseas rollout of its satellite-to-phone service and a generative-AI pilot at Japanese government counters. Both initiatives surface as the conglomerate works to refinance the single largest dollar loan it has ever taken on.
The direct-to-device offering, branded "SoftBank Starlink Direct," becomes available abroad on September 28. The first wave runs through T-Mobile USA in the United States, Rogers in Canada and One NZ in New Zealand, with the Philippines slated to follow in the autumn via Globe Telecom. SoftBank says additional markets are in the pipeline.
Subscribers on SoftBank, Y!mobile or LINEMO premium plans get the feature at no extra charge; everyone else pays 1,650 yen a month. Coverage spans SMS, MMS, RCS and international texting plus data for selected apps — voice calls and emergency calls are left out. A prerequisite is an iPhone 13 or newer running iOS 27.0, which is due to be released on September 15.
A Government Pilot Built on Homegrown AI
Alongside the satellite push, SoftBank has been testing a look-up system for civil servants in the city of Fujieda, Shizuoka prefecture, since June. The setup pairs SB Intuitions' in-house generative AI, "Sarashina," with the "dailyAI" system. Japan's interior ministry is overseeing the trial, with NRI in overall charge and Gravis Architects acting as partner. Three departments are involved — the citizens' desk, regional nursing care and social policy — and all data is processed through the Type A cloud platform while staying inside Japan.
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Taken together, the two projects sketch a strategy that goes beyond writing cheques: SoftBank wants its own AI technology deployed in the public sector, a field that could eventually open revenue streams independent of its investment gains.
The $40 Billion Loan That Wasn't Meant to Be Repaid Yet
Behind these operational moves, the group is working to clear the remaining $25.9 billion of a bridge loan originally sized at $40 billion. The debt, raised to fund its investment in OpenAI, was not due until March 2027, but SoftBank intends to settle the balance on September 15.
To do so, it plans to issue high-yield bonds worth $10 billion to $20 billion, potentially including a euro tranche, and has scheduled an investor conference in New York. A $10 billion margin loan secured against the OpenAI stake provides additional backing. So far, roughly $25 billion has been raised through bonds and margin facilities.
Those financing steps are tightly bound to the value of the OpenAI holding. The AI developer recently completed a private sale of employee shares worth $6.6 billion, lifting its valuation to $500 billion and displacing SpaceX as the world's most valuable start-up. Buyers included Thrive Capital, Dragoneer, MGX and T. Rowe Price — and SoftBank itself, a sign the Japanese group is deepening its commitment even as it pays down the debt taken on for earlier investments.
Momentum Meets Overbought Signals
The stock has been a mirror of that dual strategy. Shares currently change hands at EUR 37.76, up modestly by 0.5% from the previous close of EUR 37.58. Over the past week the advance reaches 32%, and across a month it stands at 30%. The Relative Strength Index reads 73.2, pointing to overbought conditions, while annualised 30-day volatility of 63% underlines just how choppy the trading has been.
That mix of a powerful rally and heavy swings fits a company placing enormous financial bets on several fronts at once: refinancing the OpenAI loan, adding to its OpenAI stake and expanding the satellite business internationally. Investors have so far rewarded the AI growth story, yet a market capitalisation of EUR 198.28 billion rests increasingly on the fortunes of a single, richly valued portfolio company. Should sentiment toward AI valuations sour, the effect on SoftBank's balance sheet and share price would be immediate.
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