Masayoshi Son's ten-year blueprint: SoftBank aims to be the largest "super AI" platform provider, has committed to a massive $32 billion bet on OpenAI

Wallstreetcn
2025.06.27 07:13
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Masayoshi Son announced at the shareholders' meeting that over the next decade, he will fully promote the company to become a global leader in "artificial superintelligence" platform providers. He revealed that the total investment commitment to OpenAI has reached $32 billion, stating that he is "fully betting" on the AI field. This strategic shift is supported by the funds obtained from Arm's IPO. Masayoshi Son also mentioned for the first time a succession plan, stating that he has identified candidates and plans to lead for another ten years. The news drove SoftBank's stock price up by more than 3%

SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son publicly discussed the succession plan for the first time at the shareholders' meeting and announced the ambition to transform SoftBank into a global leader in "artificial superintelligence" platform providers over the next decade. The group is fully betting on the field of artificial intelligence, with Son revealing that the cumulative investment commitment to OpenAI has reached $32 billion.

At the annual shareholders' meeting held on June 27 (Friday), Son expressed the hope that SoftBank would become the largest platform provider in the field of "super artificial intelligence" (ASI) within the next 10 years. Son told shareholders:

We aspire to be the organizer of the industry in the era of super artificial intelligence.

Son compared this goal to the positions of dominant tech platforms like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google, emphasizing the need to dominate in an industry landscape characterized by "winner takes all." Son has previously articulated that super artificial intelligence refers to AI technology with capabilities exceeding those of humans by a factor of ten thousand.

Driven by this news, SoftBank's stock price rose by as much as 3.2% on the same day.

Fully Betting on OpenAI, Investment Commitment Reaches $32 Billion

This year, SoftBank has made significant moves into the AI field, including a $6.5 billion acquisition of the American semiconductor design company Ampere and a commitment to invest up to $40 billion in OpenAI.

Son revealed at the shareholders' meeting that SoftBank's total investment commitment to OpenAI has reached $32 billion, a figure that has been steadily increasing since the initial investment in the fall of 2024. He also expressed regret for not investing earlier while anticipating that OpenAI will eventually go public.

"I am fully betting on OpenAI," Son stated, demonstrating his firm confidence in this leading AI company.

It is noteworthy that SoftBank sold about 5% of its shares in NVIDIA in 2019, which has since become one of the highest-valued companies globally following the AI boom triggered by ChatGPT at the end of 2022, dominating the AI chip market. This missed opportunity seems to reinforce Son's current determination not to miss out on opportunities in the AI field again.

Succession Plan Emerges

At the shareholders' meeting, Son hinted at the succession plan for the first time and specifically mentioned Junichi Miyakawa, head of SoftBank's telecommunications division. The 67-year-old Son stated that he plans to lead SoftBank for another 10 years but also revealed that he has identified several internal candidates for succession.

"If I become an obstacle to growth, SoftBank should enter the next phase," Son said. He particularly praised Miyakawa, who is currently responsible for promoting AI infrastructure in Japan, calling his work "extremely solid."

From Contraction to Expansion: A Shift in SoftBank's Investment Strategy

Son's latest round of investment initiatives marks a significant shift in SoftBank's strategy. Since 2022, SoftBank has undergone a contraction period, with the value of high-growth tech startups invested through its Vision Fund plummeting, forcing the group to pause aggressive investments However, the situation began to improve in September 2023 when chip design company Arm went public and raised approximately $5 billion. The rise in Arm's stock price since its IPO has increased the asset value of SoftBank Group, providing it with a new source of investment funds.

Masayoshi Son emphasized that SoftBank is committed to cautious investing, maintaining the necessary financial resources and user base during both peak and trough periods, allowing it to take risks at the appropriate time. In early June of this year, SoftBank raised $4.8 billion by selling part of its T-Mobile shares, further enhancing its investment capacity.

SoftBank's latest investment moves indicate that Masayoshi Son is trying to replicate his early successful investment in Alibaba, although some of his investments have also faced painful failures, such as the massive investment in shared office provider WeWork

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