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SoftBank-Backed SB Energy Files for IPO, Flags Heavy Reliance on OpenAI

By: IDCNOVARegion: North America
SB Energy, the artificial intelligence power infrastructure company backed by SoftBank, OpenAI, and Nvidia, has filed for an initial public offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing marks a major step for the company as it seeks to capitalize on the surging demand for AI-driven data center capacity, though it also reveals significant financial and operational risks tied to its close relationship with OpenAI.

In its S-1 filing on Tuesday, SB Energy disclosed that it is "substantially dependent" on OpenAI's performance, both as a tenant and as an equity investor. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was also an early personal investor in the company. The filing states, "This concentration means that our near-term revenues, project-level financing arrangements, and development plans are significantly linked to OpenAI's continued performance under our lease and related agreements."

The company has yet to generate any revenue from its data center operations, and none of its facilities are currently operational. SB Energy relies heavily on outside financing from partners to fund its data center campuses. For the first half of 2026, the company reported net losses of approximately $3.2 billion, driven by "substantial investments" in its data center strategy, while generating only about $139 million in revenue, mostly from its legacy energy business.

In August, Nvidia announced it would provide $105 billion in financing for an OpenAI data center in Ohio, which will be built by SB Energy. CEO Rich Hossfeld told CNBC's "Squawk Box" after the announcement, "The reason Nvidia is on our part of the equation here is that, you know, helps us to unlock things like investment-grade financing. It helps to ensure the project is a success."

The company plans to list on the Nasdaq and Nasdaq Texas under the ticker symbol SBE, with SoftBank as the controlling shareholder. While no pricing or specific timeline has been announced, The Wall Street Journal reported that SB Energy could begin trading as soon as this month, aiming to raise between $5 billion and $7 billion from the offering.

The IPO prospectus also flagged growing public backlash against data centers as a potential risk. "We may face community opposition, local moratoria and hyper-local dissent, including growing public resistance to AI and AI-related infrastructure, that may adversely affect our data center and power generation businesses and operations," the filing read.

Additional risks disclosed in the S-1 include technological advancements that "could render our facilities obsolete or unmarketable," failure of businesses to adopt AI, regulatory changes, and decelerating capital expenditures from hyperscalers. Notably, OpenAI is mentioned 306 times throughout the filing, compared to 325 mentions of SoftBank, while Nvidia appears 135 times, underscoring the deep interdependence between SB Energy and its key partners as it prepares to go public.