OpenAI Secures $520 Million Loan from Bank of America Amid AI Boom

Bank of America has extended a $520 million line of credit to OpenAI, the ChatGPT maker's first loan from the bank and a reversal of BofA's earlier reluctance to finance the AI lab. The revolving credit facility lands as OpenAI, which confidentially filed for a U.S. IPO in June targeting a valuation of roughly $1 trillion, lines up financing ahead of a public listing that reports say could slip to 2027 if the company wants to hold out for that price tag.

BAC had previously turned down OpenAI's financing requests, according to reporting on the deal, citing the startup's heavy cash burn and unproven path to profitability. The reversal reflects how aggressively banks are now competing for a foothold with AI's largest private companies: Bank of America says it has helped raise close to $500 billion in capital for AI-related firms since 2025, spanning investment-grade debt, leveraged finance and equity offerings, and it is angling for an advisory role on OpenAI's listing as well as rival Anthropic's own confidentially filed IPO.

The credit line does not resolve the core tension in the deal: OpenAI continues to spend cash at a record pace even as it approaches a public offering that could rank among the largest tech listings in years. For BAC, the loan is a bet that early access to AI's most closely watched IPO pipeline outweighs the credit risk of an unprofitable borrower. Investors will be watching whether the bank's exposure to OpenAI grows further, and whether the company's valuation target and IPO timeline hold up as the process advances.

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