SoftBank sells Nvidia stake to raise funds for AI projects: CEO

SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son said he sold the company’s stake in Nvidia to raise funds for AI investments, including projects with OpenAI.

Speaking at the FII Priority Asia forum in Tokyo on December 1, Son explained that SoftBank needed capital for initiatives such as data center construction and acquiring US chip designer Ampere Computing.

He said he would have kept the Nvidia shares if SoftBank had more money, and described the sale as a difficult decision.

Son dismissed concerns about an AI investment bubble, arguing that long-term gains could outweigh current spending.

SoftBank has increased its investments in AI, partnering with Hon Hai Precision Industry on the Stargate data center project, and planning further funding for OpenAI by the end of 2025.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

SoftBank’s Nvidia sale raised about $5.8 billion, which covers only part of its near-term AI push

SoftBank sold 32.1 million Nvidia shares for about $5.83 billion in October 2025 1. It also pledged $22.5 billion for OpenAI, plus $6.5 billion for Ampere Computing (a U.S. cloud server chip designer) and $5.4 billion for ABB’s robotics business (ABB is an industrial automation and robotics company) 1. That covers under 20% of those commitments, so the company sold $9.17 billion of T-Mobile shares and took a margin loan against Arm, the chip design firm it controls 1.
Stargate is a $500 billion program with OpenAI, Oracle, and Abu Dhabi–backed AI infrastructure venture MGX over four years 2. CFO Yoshimitsu Goto said the Nvidia sale was unrelated to the chipmaker’s fundamentals and aimed to keep financial strength 1.

Data center builders and utilities should focus on named Stargate sites where power timing sets the pace

Stargate named five U.S. sites, with one in the Midwest still unnamed 3. Abilene could add 600MW, taking capacity to 5.5GW, while the new locations target 7GW over three years 3.
Power delivery contracts matter most at these sites 4. Doña Ana County’s Project Jupiter pairs Stack Infrastructure with the Borderplex Alliance with $165 billion planned, so expect phased work on site prep, transmission upgrades, plus new substations over several years 3.