The upcoming listing will serve as a key test of public market appetite for the developer behind a massive OpenAI-linked data center project. According to a Monday report from The New York Times, SoftBank-controlled SB Energy is encountering pushback from investors as it prepares its initial public offering.

The company, in which SoftBank holds a majority stake, aims to raise between $5 billion and $7 billion through the IPO to fund construction of a sprawling data center campus that OpenAI intends to lease. The project is backed by a $105 billion credit guarantee from Nvidia and will utilize Nvidia's chips. Nvidia has also committed to investing up to $3 billion in the IPO itself.

However, the report indicates that investors are uneasy about the anticipated valuation of roughly $50 billion for the company. While the IPO was initially expected to launch as early as this month, it now appears more likely to be pushed back to next month, according to the report.

Based on securities filings submitted earlier this month, SB Energy currently generates revenue from selling electricity to power utilities and does not yet operate any data centers. Nevertheless, the filings disclose a future contracted revenue pipeline of $439 billion.