Tokyo — SoftBank Group has sold its entire $5.8 billion stake in Nvidia, marking one of the most consequential portfolio pivots in recent tech history. The move signals CEO Masayoshi Son’s transformation of SoftBank from a diversified investor in hardware and infrastructure into a pure-play artificial intelligence (AI) powerhouse.
The sale, disclosed in the company’s latest financial filings, underscores a clear strategic shift: SoftBank is cashing out of the company powering the AI revolution to invest directly in the firms creating and deploying it.
Reallocating Capital: From Chips to Intelligence
SoftBank Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto confirmed that proceeds from the Nvidia sale will be directed toward funding several key AI initiatives. These include:
- OpenAI Investment: A renewed, multi-billion dollar commitment to OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT and one of SoftBank’s most ambitious AI partnerships.
- Project Stargate: Participation in Project Stargate, a proposed $500 billion megaproject aimed at building AI-focused data center infrastructure in the United States.
This capital reallocation reflects Masayoshi Son’s long-standing belief that the next major wave of value creation lies not in the chips that power AI systems, but in the foundational models and applications that define them.
“SoftBank is no longer content being a supplier of the tools of the AI era,” one Tokyo-based analyst noted. “It wants to be one of the architects of the era itself.”
Market Reaction and Investor Anxiety
While SoftBank reported a near tripling of its net profit for the quarter helped in part by the Nvidia windfall, the sale triggered mixed reactions across global markets.
- Nvidia Shares Dip: Nvidia stock fell modestly following the disclosure, applying pressure to the broader semiconductor and mega-cap tech sectors.
- Bubble Fears: Analysts see the move as a potential warning signal that the AI sector may be approaching overheated territory. When a major investor like Son locks in profits at record valuations, it often prompts others to reassess the sustainability of the current AI stock surge.
Despite these concerns, SoftBank’s leadership maintains that the sale was not a market-timing maneuver, but a strategic repositioning to fund “the next phase” of its AI ambitions.
A Familiar Pattern and a Second Chance
This isn’t SoftBank’s first exit from Nvidia. The conglomerate previously sold its stake in 2019, just before Nvidia’s valuation skyrocketed amid the AI boom. That decision is widely regarded as one of SoftBank’s more poorly timed divestments, costing the firm billions in missed gains.
This time, however, Son appears intent on turning past missteps into future opportunity. By selling near Nvidia’s all-time highs, SoftBank locks in profits and shifts its capital into sectors it believes are less mature and more transformative over the long term.
Some analysts see this as an effort to correct history’s narrative, transforming what was once viewed as a missed opportunity into a bold reinvestment in the AI frontier.
SoftBank’s Next Frontier: Owning the AI Stack
SoftBank’s AI strategy now revolves around controlling multiple layers of the emerging intelligence ecosystem:
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Foundation Models: Through OpenAI, SoftBank gains exposure to the development of cutting-edge language and vision models that define the new digital infrastructure.
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AI Infrastructure: Project Stargate gives it a stake in the physical and computational backbone that powers these models.
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AI Applications: SoftBank’s Vision Fund continues to invest in startups applying AI to industries like healthcare, robotics, and autonomous systems.
In essence, SoftBank is moving from a hardware-dependent investor to an AI-native company
one seeking influence from the data center to the end-user interface.
Investor Reactions: Risk or Reinvention?
The boldness of SoftBank’s pivot has sparked debate among investors and analysts.
Skeptics warn that the company may be trading a proven asset (Nvidia) for speculative bets in a volatile and uncertain AI landscape. They note that the AI sector remains crowded, with high capital costs and unclear monetization paths.
Supporters, however, see Son’s strategy as visionary, arguing that the sale represents a logical evolution for a company that has always sought to back the technologies shaping the next century.
“SoftBank is positioning itself as a central architect of the AI ecosystem,” said one London-based fund manager. “If AI truly becomes the new electricity, SoftBank wants to own the power grid.”
A Defining Bet for the Decade Ahead
For Masayoshi Son, this sale may define his legacy. Known for bold, sometimes polarizing bets from early investments in Alibaba to high-profile losses in WeWork, Son is again taking a high-risk, high-reward path.
If his AI vision succeeds, SoftBank could emerge as a dominant global force in the next wave of technology, bridging infrastructure, intelligence, and innovation.
If it fails, critics may see this as another example of overreach at the height of market exuberance.
Either way, the $5.8 billion Nvidia exit is not just a sale , it’s a statement.
SoftBank is declaring that the future of technology lies not in the chips that run AI, but in the minds that create it.
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