AI “hunger” spawned an IPO boom! SoftBank and OpenAI teamed up to bet on SB Energy (SBE.US) to apply for listing in the US

The Zhitong Finance App learned that SB Energy Corp. (SBE.US), a power infrastructure company jointly supported by SoftBank Group Corp. (SoftBank Group Corp.) and OpenAI, has officially submitted an initial public offering (IPO) application to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), becoming the latest energy company to seek listing due to the surge in electricity demand in artificial intelligence data centers.

According to the prospectus disclosed on Tuesday, the Redwood City, California-based company achieved revenue of US$139 million and net loss of US$3.2 billion in the first half of 2026; compared with revenue of US$83 million and net loss of US$216 million for the same period last year. The sharp increase in losses was mainly due to upfront capital expenditure and asset impairment charges related to the construction of natural gas power generation projects.

SB Energy currently holds a portfolio of photovoltaic power generation and battery energy storage assets, and is developing a natural gas power plant with an installed capacity of 9.2 gigawatts in Ohio. The power plant will be dedicated to powering artificial intelligence data centers, indicating that the company's strategic focus is shifting towards digital infrastructure at an accelerated pace.

OpenAI and SoftBank have each pledged to invest $500 million in SB Energy to build and operate the company's 1.2 gigawatt data center in Texas exclusively for use by OpenAI. Furthermore, asset management giant Ares Management Corp. (Ares Management Corp.) has also participated in investing in SB Energy.

Analyst Kirk Boodry pointed out in a May research report that this IPO is expected to ease market concerns about SoftBank's asset valuation and its ability to finance AI investment plans. He wrote, “By shifting capital requirements for asset-heavy data center investments to the subsidiary level, SoftBank has effectively reduced liquidity pressure at the parent company level.”

The IPO comes at a time when tech giants are increasing their investment in electricity and infrastructure to advance the construction of their artificial intelligence data centers. UBS Group AG analysts expect the world to invest $511 billion to close the electricity supply and demand gap by 2030, with data centers being the main driver.

Co-lead underwriters for SB Energy's current IPO include JPMorgan (JPMorgan), Goldman Sachs (Goldman Sachs), Morgan Stanley (Morgan Stanley), Citigroup (Citigroup), and Mizuho Securities (Mizuho). The company expects its common stock to be listed and traded on Nasdaq Global Select Market (Nasdaq Global Select Market) and Nasdaq Texas (Nasdaq Texas) under the stock code “SBE”.