A massive $40 billion bridge loan arranged by SoftBank Group (SFTBY.US) to fund its investment in US artificial intelligence leader OpenAI has drawn a fresh wave of interest from 21 new financial institutions during its broader syndication phase, according to sources familiar with the matter.

This influx of new participants has increased the total number of lenders involved, bringing the combined loan commitments from this new group to roughly $7 billion, the sources said. Abu Dhabi First Bank, Singapore's GIC Private Limited, and Standard Chartered each pledged near $1 billion in loan commitments. The remaining portion was distributed among banks based in Europe, Japan, and Taiwan.

Because some lending institutions participated through multiple branches, the tally of new lenders was calculated at the parent company level, the sources noted. The remaining $33 billion of the bridge loan is still held by the underwriting banks and senior lenders, though it could be further syndicated in the future.

For large financing deals, the initial lenders often distribute a portion of the loan to a wider network of institutions. This 12-month loan, signed in March, is one of the largest bridge financings ever in the Asia-Pacific region and is expected to generate over $100 million in fees for the underwriting banks.

Despite earlier concerns from some bankers about SoftBank's risk exposure to OpenAI—which faces intensifying competition from rivals like Anthropic PBC—and founder and CEO Masayoshi Son's "all-in" commitment of over $60 billion in investment pledges, the financing had already attracted nine new banks before entering full syndication in May. The bridge loan carries an initial margin of approximately 250 basis points above the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), translating to an interest rate of about 6.14% at current SOFR levels.