SoftBank aims to lead in 'artificial super intelligence'

SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son announced plans for the company to become a leading platform provider for “artificial super intelligence” within the next decade.

Speaking at the annual shareholder meeting, he compared this ambition to the dominance of Microsoft, Amazon, and Google, noting the “winner takes all” dynamic.

He defined artificial super intelligence as tech that surpasses human capabilities by 10,000 times.

In 2025, SoftBank invested heavily in AI, including the US$6.5 billion acquisition of US-based chip designer Ampere and up to US$40 billion in funding for OpenAI.

Son said SoftBank’s total investment in OpenAI since 2024 has reached US$32 billion and expressed regret for not investing earlier.

🔗 Source: Reuters

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ SoftBank’s cyclical betting follows a historic boom-bust pattern

Son’s new “all in” stance on OpenAI ($32 billion investment) mirrors his previous high-stakes technology bets that have defined SoftBank’s history1.

This reflects a consistent pattern of massive, concentrated investments—from $100 million in Yahoo in 1996 to $20 million in Alibaba in 2000 (which grew to $130 billion in value) to the $100 billion Vision Fund launched in 20172.

These aggressive investment cycles are typically followed by periods of retrenchment, as happened after the Vision Fund’s high-growth tech startups crashed in value from 20221.

Son’s investment approach consistently targets transformative technologies, though with mixed results. While missing the Nvidia AI boom (selling its 5% stake in 2019), SoftBank also avoided catastrophic losses from investments like WeWork1.

This high-risk, high-reward approach, as critics have called it, has reshaped the venture capital landscape by inflating valuations and pressuring competitors to match its funding levels3.

2️⃣ Son’s pursuit of ASI represents a dramatic escalation in AI ambitions

Son’s vision for “artificial super intelligence” (ASI) represents a leap beyond current AI capabilities, targeting systems that exceed human intelligence by a significant margin1.

This positions SoftBank in direct competition with established tech giants like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon in the race to develop superintelligent systems—a space where Son believes “winner takes all” dynamics will apply1.