BofA extends first $520 million loan to OpenAI ahead of IPO, source says

Bank of America has extended a $520 million credit line to OpenAI, its first loan to the ChatGPT maker, in a move that underlines how quickly Wall Street is re-pricing AI risk to win a place in the next public offering queue, Reuters reported on Wednesday. BNN Bloomberg carried the same report.

The loan may be modest relative to OpenAI’s scale, but it gives BofA a foothold with one of the most closely watched private companies in the market. Reuters said the lender is also eyeing advisory roles on planned OpenAI and Anthropic IPOs, a sign that banks are already competing for underwriting economics before either company prices a deal. That kind of positioning matters because the big rewards in an IPO are often won before the first share trades.

BofA has helped raise nearly $500 billion in capital for AI-related companies since 2025, accounting for 60 per cent of such fundraising across investment-grade debt, leveraged finance and equity capital markets, according to internal data seen by Reuters. The number suggests the bank has already made AI a franchise priority, not a one-off trade.

Strategically, the loan buys BofA optionality before the IPO timetable settles. Financially, it is small against OpenAI’s likely financing needs. Meanwhile, the real prize is not the coupon income but the chance to sit in the syndicate when a trillion-dollar listing comes together. Taken together, the move says as much about bank competition as it does about OpenAI.

OpenAI confidentially filed for a U.S. IPO last month, Reuters reported in a separate story on June 8, and the company is said to be targeting a valuation above $1 trillion, potentially as soon as this year. A listing at that scale would rival the largest technology floats in recent memory and could force banks to compete aggressively on both price and access.

The new lending relationship is the latest signal that the path to market is already changing how banks behave around the AI leader. A company that was founded in 2015 as a research nonprofit and later built a for-profit arm to fund the cost of developing AI systems is now being treated like a future fee pool as well as a borrower. For lenders, the credit line is a low-cost way to stay close to the table while the listing timetable is still uncertain.

Why the loan matters

For BofA, the credit line does more than provide interest income. It creates a deeper commercial tie to a potential blockbuster listing that could generate financing, advisory and capital-markets fees for years if OpenAI chooses the public route.

That calculation is easier to understand after SpaceX’s June debut, which Reuters said raised a record $75 billion at a $1.77 trillion valuation in the biggest-ever U.S. IPO. Mega-listings can be unusually lucrative for banks because they open the door to follow-on work even after the offering itself is complete.

The OpenAI move also fits a broader pattern across the AI complex. Reuters reported that the company has become one of the central names in a race for investor capital alongside Anthropic, and the latest loan suggests lenders are willing to make incremental concessions to stay relevant in that contest.

What comes next

OpenAI did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment. The exact terms of the credit line were not disclosed.

What is clear is that the financing relationship has become part of the story around any future listing. Before a prospectus is even public, banks are already positioning for roles, and a $520 million loan is one way to stay in the frame.

Still, the broader message is simple: in the AI market, capital is already chasing the likely winners.