SoftBank goes all-in on AI: Masayoshi Son's $32B bet on artificial super intelligence

SoftBank's Masayoshi Son has never shied away from sweeping visions, and his latest is characteristically bold. Speaking at the conglomerate's annual shareholder meeting on Friday, the billionaire founder declared that SoftBank intends to be "the organiser of the industry in the artificial-super-intelligence era” within the next decade. In other words, he wants SoftBank to become the go-to platform for technologies that can outperform human cognition by orders of magnitude.

Son's ambition puts SoftBank in the same conversation as today's digital gatekeepers—Microsoft, Amazon and Google—whose platforms thrive on a winner-takes-all dynamic. To get there, the Japanese group has reignited the aggressive deal-making that once defined it, betting billions on both the brains and the plumbing of next-generation AI.

In recent months, SoftBank has agreed to buy US chip designer Ampere for US $6.5 billion and has pledged to underwrite up to US $40 billion of fresh funding for OpenAI. Son told investors his total exposure to the ChatGPT creator has already reached US $32 billion since late 2024—an admission tinged with regret that he "didn't invest earlier.” He also predicted that OpenAI will eventually hit public markets, offering SoftBank another potential windfall.

Aggressive bets on AI hardware and software

The new spree follows a period of restraint after SoftBank's Vision Funds were battered by the 2022 tech-startup downturn. Fortunes improved with the September 2023 IPO of Arm, the British chip designer, which raised about US $5 billion and has since surged in value. That rally has fattened SoftBank's asset base, giving the group fresh collateral to raise debt and reload its investment cannon.

Not all of Son's wagers have paid off—his early stake in Nvidia was sold in 2019, just before the AI-chip boom catapulted the California firm into the trillion-dollar club. And the WeWork implosion is still a cautionary tale. Yet Son insists SoftBank can now balance risk with "prudent investment,” citing ample liquidity and a customer network that feeds into each new platform bet.

Balancing risk and reward

For the wider industry, SoftBank's push matters on several fronts. Massive capital injections into AI chipmakers and model developers could accelerate competition for computing power, tighten supply chains and spur new rounds of consolidation. Investors will be watching whether SoftBank can negotiate favourable equity terms—outsize positions in fast-growing private players could turbo-charge returns if (or when) those firms list.

Economically, Japan's resurgent SoftBank could channel significant foreign capital back into domestic R&D and regional AI ecosystems, just as the group's early Alibaba stake helped reshape Asian e-commerce two decades ago. The opportunity, and the risk, lie in timing: a mistimed exit or another WeWork-style misfire could erode hard-won credibility and rattle lenders.

For now, Son is "all in on OpenAI” and intent on positioning SoftBank as the fulcrum of an artificial-super-intelligence future. Whether that gamble rewrites the playbook—or becomes another cautionary footnote—will hinge on his ability to pick the next set of winners before the rest of the market catches up.

Summary

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son plans to make the company the dominant platform for artificial super intelligence within 10 years, mirroring today's tech giants. Recent moves include a US $6.5 billion purchase of Ampere and up to US $40 billion in underwriting for OpenAI, bringing SoftBank's total OpenAI stake to US $32 billion. Buoyed by Arm's successful 2023 IPO, Son is reviving bold investments while pledging prudent oversight. The strategy could reshape AI supply chains and capital flows, but SoftBank's history of high-profile missteps means execution risk remains high.

FAQs

1. What is artificial super intelligence (ASI), and how is it different from regular AI?

Artificial super intelligence (ASI) refers to AI systems that surpass human intelligence across all domains by a large margin—often described as being 10,000 times more capable than humans. Unlike current generative AI or machine learning tools, ASI could reason, learn, and create autonomously on a superhuman level.

2. Why is SoftBank investing so heavily in OpenAI and Ampere?

SoftBank aims to build a dominant position in the next era of AI by backing foundational technologies. OpenAI leads in advanced AI models, while Ampere designs energy-efficient chips tailored for AI workloads—both critical assets in shaping future AI platforms.

3. How does SoftBank's investment strategy in 2024–25 differ from its past Vision Fund bets?

While Vision Fund 1 and 2 focused broadly on tech startups, often chasing growth over fundamentals, the current approach is more concentrated—targeting core infrastructure in AI, such as chips and models—with increased emphasis on long-term platform dominance.

4. What role does Arm's IPO play in SoftBank's renewed AI push?

Arm's successful IPO in 2023 injected SoftBank with fresh capital and boosted its asset base. The appreciation in Arm's stock has allowed SoftBank to leverage these gains to fund new investments, including those in OpenAI and Ampere.

5. What are the risks in SoftBank's current AI-focused strategy?

The AI race is competitive and capital-intensive. Risks include regulatory uncertainty, overvaluation of private AI firms, and market timing—especially if key firms like OpenAI delay IPOs or face technological bottlenecks.

6. How could SoftBank's AI investments impact the broader industry?

SoftBank's large-scale funding could drive faster development of AI infrastructure, intensify competition in AI chipmaking, and reshape global supply chains. It may also influence how capital flows into the next wave of AI innovation, particularly in Asia and the U.S.

7. Could OpenAI go public, and what would that mean for SoftBank?

Masayoshi Son expects OpenAI to eventually go public. If it does, SoftBank's substantial stake could yield significant returns and cement its role as a leading investor in transformative AI technology.