Masayoshi Son, chairman and chief executive officer of SoftBank Group Corp., speaks at the SoftBank World event in Tokyo, Japan, on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. Speaking via teleconference, Son and OpenAI chief Sam Altman argued that advancing artificial intelligence would lead to new jobs that are not yet imagined, and the advancement of robotics will help kickstart a “self-improvement” loop. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son on Monday downplayed the decision to offload the conglomerate’s entire Nvidia stake, saying he “was crying” over parting with the shares.
Speaking at a forum in Tokyo Monday, Son addressed SoftBank’s November disclosure that the firm had sold its holding in the American chip darling for $5.83 billion.
According to Son, SoftBank wouldn’t have made the move if it didn’t need to bankroll its next artificial intelligence investments, including a big bet on OpenAI and data center projects.
“I don’t want to sell a single share. I just had more need for money to invest in OpenAI and other projects, Son said during the FII Priority Asia forum. “I was crying to sell Nvidia shares.”
Son’s comments are consistent with what analysts and other Softbank executives said in November, describing the sale as part of broader efforts to bolster SoftBank Vision Fund’s AI war chest.
SoftBank has doubled down on its AI plans this year with a series of projects, including work on Stargate Project data centers and the acquisition of U.S. chip designer Ampere Computing.
The Japanese giant could also “potentially” increase its investment in OpenAI depending on the performance of the ChatGPT maker and the valuation of further rounds, a person familiar with the matter previously told CNBC.
Earlier this year, Son said that SoftBank was “all in” on OpenAI and predicted the AI startup would one day become the most valuable company in the world.
So far, that bet has reaped some dividends, with SoftBank reporting last month that its second-quarter net profit more than doubled to 2.5 trillion yen ($16.6 billion), driven by valuation gains in its OpenAI holdings.
However, SoftBank’s massive AI bets come amid growing fears and jitters in markets about a potential AI bubble.
In his Monday talk, Son also pushed back against these concerns, arguing that those who talk about an AI bubble are “not smart enough.”
He predicted that “super [artificial] intelligence” and AI robots will generate at least 10% of global gross domestic product over the long term, which he said would outweigh trillions of dollars of investment into the technology.
