SoftBank's growing bets on AI and semiconductor assets

SoftBank raised $11.1 billion in the largest high-yield corporate bond sale globally on record. The funds are being used to invest in various AI-related companies and infrastructure. Founder and CEO Masayoshi Son aims to establish SoftBank as the world's leading AI platform by tapping into the semiconductor supply chain, data centers, large language model development, and robotics.

So far, SoftBank has made several notable AI investments. In 2024, it invested $500 million in OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. In 2025, SoftBank increased its stake to around $30 billion, committing to another $30 billion in 2026. As of June 2025, OpenAI's rising valuation in private fundraising rounds generated $45 billion in unrealized gains for SoftBank. However, the company has delayed plans for a public listing, limiting the realization of these gains and testing the firm's prospects in the public markets.

In December 2025, SoftBank acquired digital infrastructure investor DigitalBridge for $4 billion. The firm invests in infrastructure sectors such as data centers, cell towers, fiber networks, small-cell systems, and edge infrastructure. SoftBank also acquired ABB's robotics business in a $5.4 billion deal in October 2025. Son sees robotics as a long-term growth prospect and is exploring the spinoff of its holdings in autonomous robotics, known as Roze.

In August 2025, SoftBank invested $2 billion in Intel, believing in the expansion of chip manufacturing and supply in the US. This investment generated a valuation gain of 1.33 trillion yen ($8.39 billion) as Intel's shares surged. SoftBank is also involved in Stargate, a joint venture between SoftBank, OpenAI, and Oracle, with a planned investment of up to $500 billion over four years. The project, for which SoftBank is leading financing, has faced delays due to longer-than-expected negotiations and site decisions.

SoftBank has also backed Perplexity AI, an AI-powered search engine startup, and acquired Ampere Computing, a US chip designer. Ampere makes data center central processing unit chips based on SoftBank's majority-owned Arm Holdings architecture. Graphcore, another AI chipmaker, was purchased by SoftBank in 2024, though it has struggled to secure investment.

SoftBank's majority-owned Arm Holdings, a British chip designer, went public in 2023 with a valuation of $54.5 billion. The company's stake has seen significant growth due to the semiconductor supply chain boom. Arm's AI data center chip was unveiled in March 2026, marking a shift in SoftBank's strategy from relying solely on intellectual property licensing. Nvidia, once a 5% stakeholder, sold its position in 2019 but has since rebuilt its position in AI.