Key Takeaways:
SB Energy issued OpenAI warrants worth an estimated $5.5 billion to land the artificial-intelligence company as a data-center tenant, deepening the financial ties binding the SoftBank-backed firm ahead of its initial public offering.
The warrants, valued at $3.6 billion when awarded in January and $5.5 billion at the end of June, are detailed in draft IPO documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. SB Energy is expected to make its filing public as soon as this week.
The company, majority-owned by Masayoshi Son's SoftBank, is working with bankers on an IPO as soon as next month, aiming to raise between $5 billion and $7 billion, with terms not yet final. OpenAI invested $500 million in SB Energy earlier this year and is expected to own a single-digit percentage of shares after the listing. SB Energy has committed to purchase at least $50 million of OpenAI software and services through 2028, including ChatGPT Enterprise.
The arrangement illustrates the interconnectedness that has come to define the AI boom: SB Energy's data-center customers are also its investors. The company has no data centers in operation and 800 megawatts under construction, yet holds contracts for nearly nine gigawatts of computing capacity and a backlog exceeding $400 billion. Its ability to finance the flagship Ohio project depends significantly on Nvidia's agreement to provide a residual value guarantee.
Contract scale outstrips operational capacity
SB Energy's base of data-center customers currently consists of firms that are also its investors. SoftBank and OpenAI are the planned tenants in three SB Energy data centers, the documents show. A fourth, 900-megawatt site in Scurry County, Texas, has no customer yet. Parent company SoftBank also serves as one of OpenAI's major investors.
Earlier this month, OpenAI signed 17 separate leases covering about eight gigawatts of computing capacity at SB Energy's largest project in southern Ohio, supported by 10 gigawatts of power. The vast majority of the company's contracted capacity is expected to come from that campus, which has not been built and would rely on a planned nearby natural-gas-fired power plant.
SB Energy does not generate revenue from its data-center segment but plans to report a contracted backlog in that unit of more than $400 billion. Its revenue primarily comes from its renewable-power unit, which focuses on solar and battery systems. The firm generated around $140 million in revenue during the first half of 2026, up 66 percent from the same period a year earlier. Its net loss widened to $3.2 billion from about $250 million in the first half of 2025, largely driven by changes in the estimated value of its warrant liabilities.
After the IPO, tranches of warrants in SB Energy would vest based on the company reaching certain market-value milestones. SB Energy warned in the filing that it is substantially dependent on OpenAI and could be materially harmed if the AI company's financial condition deteriorates.
Nvidia's guarantee underpins Ohio financing
Nvidia also holds an equity stake in SB Energy. The draft filing shows the chip maker committed $3 billion through two private transactions tied to the IPO, including one that allows it to acquire shares at a 10 percent discount to the public offering price. Nvidia's residual value guarantee is central to financing the Ohio project; if it fails to materialize, construction timelines and funding arrangements could be affected.
For investors, SB Energy's IPO will serve as a test case for pricing AI infrastructure assets: the company holds enormous potential contracts and backing from industry giants, yet its core data centers have not been completed, and its revenue, energy supply, financing, and customer concentration remain unproven. The market will watch whether the formal filing confirms the OpenAI warrant arrangements, lease terms, and the actual scale and conditions of Nvidia's guarantees.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
