SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son announced the company’s commitment to its partnership with OpenAI, with planned investments totaling 4.8 trillion yen (US$33.2 billion).

SoftBank is “all in” on OpenAI, Son said, as the Japanese tech giant looks to realize its vision of “artificial superintelligence.”

This statement was made during SoftBank’s annual general meeting in Tokyo on June 27, 2025.

Son expressed confidence in OpenAI’s future potential, indicating that he believes the company will eventually go public and become highly valuable.

He noted that before 2019, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sought a US$10 billion investment from SoftBank, but the funding went to Microsoft, which became OpenAI’s primary backer.

Additionally, Son outlined SoftBank’s vision for advancing “artificial superintelligence”, which he defined as technology significantly beyond current AI capabilities.

He emphasized that the partnership with OpenAI and ownership of British semiconductor company Arm are vital for reaching this goal.

🔗 Source: CNBC

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ SoftBank’s multi-billion OpenAI investment continues Son’s long-term AI strategy

SoftBank’s massive $33.2 billion planned investment in OpenAI represents the culmination of CEO Masayoshi Son’s long-standing AI investment philosophy dating back years.

The Vision Fund 2, launched in 2019, already demonstrated this focus with an initial $108 billion specifically earmarked for AI technologies, attracting partners like Microsoft and Apple 1.

Son’s statements about dominating the AI sector for future growth have been consistent since at least 2019, when SoftBank increased investments in AI companies like Automation Anywhere 2.

This pattern of aggressive, large-scale investments typically exceeds $100 million per deal and reflects Son’s consistent philosophy of identifying transformative technologies early, even when profitability is distant 3.

SoftBank’s partnership with the University of Tokyo in 2019, investing approximately $185 million over ten years for AI research, further demonstrates the company’s long-term commitment to building AI infrastructure beyond individual company investments 4.

2️⃣ AI investment landscape shifting toward measurable returns as market matures

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