Bank of America has quietly opened a massive $520 million credit line for San Francisco’s OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, in what looks like a high-stakes bet on one of Wall Street’s most anticipated IPOs in years. It is the lender’s first loan to OpenAI and a clear signal that big banks are scrambling for a piece of the artificial intelligence boom that is reshaping both global markets and San Francisco’s own backyard.
According to Reuters, a person familiar with the matter said BofA provided the $520 million line, instantly making it one of OpenAI’s largest lenders as the AI heavyweight lines up financing ahead of a market debut.
Bankers Racing For Underwriting Slots
Bloomberg Law first reported that BofA bankers pulled a U-turn on an earlier decision to spurn OpenAI’s loan request, reversing course to better position the bank for coveted advisory and underwriting roles on the IPO. That move slots BofA into a broader Wall Street race, as major lenders jostle to win fees from blockbuster listings tied to AI.
OpenAI confidentially filed draft IPO paperwork in early June, giving the company flexibility on when to pull the trigger on a public listing, according to Axios. Insiders have said the company is already working with major banks on a listing timeline, and some reports suggest it is eyeing a valuation that would rank among the largest debuts in modern market history.
BofA's AI Playbook
Internal data seen by Reuters shows that since 2025, BofA has helped raise nearly $500 billion for AI-related companies and has accounted for roughly 60% of such fundraising across major capital markets categories. The same reporting said OpenAI is targeting a valuation north of $1 trillion in a listing, which helps explain why banks are lining up now for a shot at long-term fees from follow-on offerings and related deals.
What It Means For San Francisco
For San Francisco, the giant credit line is more than just balance-sheet theater. It could deepen ties between Wall Street and Bay Area tech growth, feeding demand for finance and tech workers and fueling real estate pressure in neighborhoods where OpenAI is already a heavyweight presence. Local coverage has traced how AI money has tightened the housing market and concentrated deal-making energy in Mission Bay, where OpenAI maintains a significant footprint, as homes fly off the market faster than almost anywhere else in the country.
For banks, the math is straightforward: mega-IPOs throw off enormous underwriting and advisory fees, and a short-term loan or credit line can function as a relatively cheap ticket into those bigger, long-term mandates. As Bloomberg Law noted, lenders are weighing the risk of backing high-profile tech names against the payoff of being attached to what could be the defining AI stock market debut of the decade.
