Gambling hasn’t always worked out for SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son. But as the Japanese billionaire begins to see his technology empire turn a corner, he’ll be hoping he can pull off a huge bet on AI.
On Tuesday, SoftBank, which has positioned itself as one of the most important backers to Sam Altman’s OpenAI, posted its first annual profit in four years. Net income of 1.15 trillion yen ($7.8 billion) for the year ended March overcame a $1.5 billion loss the previous year.
Fourth quarter gains helped overall profit. A 124% year-on-year jump in quarterly profit was spurred by its longtime holding of Alibaba shares — the Chinese tech firm’s shares have risen over 55% this year — as well as profit in its telecoms unit, which includes T-Mobile.
The turn in fortune will offer relief for the CEO known as Masa, who has spent some of this past decade apologizing for losses and missteps. A disastrous bet on WeWork sparked an apology. And billions of dollars in losses in his Vision Fund arm prompted Son to say in 2022 he was “quite embarrassed and remorseful.”
But with fortunes at SoftBank now improving, Son will feel he has a firmer ground to stand on as he goes all in on AI.
Son’s biggest bet yet is in play
Few people have hyped AI as much as Son. The SoftBank CEO said last year that he believes AI will be 10,000 times smarter than the human brain by 2035, and eventually “evolve into super wisdom for the happiness of all humanity.” His plan to get there, however, depends on his ability to pull off some pretty high-risk moves.
Most notable is SoftBank’s growing ties to OpenAI. Earlier this year, the Japanese firm emerged as the main player behind a $40 billion funding round for the ChatGPT maker. It had already put $2.2 billion into the company since last year.
According to SoftBank’s Tuesday filings, the company is willing to deploy this level of capital because it deems OpenAI to be “the partner closest to achieving artificial general intelligence,” which is when AI can perform any intellectual task that a human can.
SoftBank is also betting on OpenAI to deliver the “massive computing power” essential for developing and training smarter AI models, which is why Son is serving as chairman of Stargate, a $500 billion project announced in January to build critical infrastructure in the US.
The bets with OpenAI are supplemented with AI plays elsewhere. SoftBank’s majority holding of AI chip firm Arm is one example. SoftBank’s decision in January to form a new holding company called Robo HD for its robotics-related investments appears to be another.
Each of these comes with its fair share of risk. OpenAI is locked in a legal battle with Elon Musk over its corporate structure, and it has faced issues with some of its newer models. Last month, OpenAI rolled back an update that gave its AI “sycophantic” behavior.
Questions appear to be surrounding Stargate, too. A Bloomberg report on Monday said SoftBank’s plans to invest in the infrastructure project have slowed as Donald Trump’s tariff plans have added uncertainty to discussions held with lenders.
There are also questions over the long-term demand for buying AI chips. Arm declined to share full-year guidance on revenue as it reported earnings last week, sending its shares spiralling by 11% after-hours.
For Son, managing these bets will be key to staying on top.
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