SoftBank Group Corp. has sold its entire holding in Nvidia Corp. for about $5.83 billion, freeing up cash to accelerate its aggressive bets on artificial intelligence, according to an exclusive report by Bloomberg. The move underscores founder Masayoshi Son’s determination to fund a sweeping range of AI initiatives, from hyperscale data centers to advanced robotics facilities in the US.
The sale comes amid growing scrutiny over the surge in AI-related spending by global tech giants. Companies such as Meta, Alphabet, and others are expected to collectively invest over $1 trillion in the coming years, prompting investors to question whether such massive outlays will yield sustainable returns. Nvidia shares slipped around 1.3% in pre-market trading following the announcement.
SoftBank executives stressed that the divestment was a financing decision rather than a reflection of Nvidia’s prospects. “I can’t say if we’re in an AI bubble or not,” Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto said at the company’s earnings briefing. “We sold Nvidia so that the capital can be utilized for our financing,” he added.
This is not the first time the Japanese conglomerate has exited Nvidia. SoftBank previously sold out in 2019, then re-entered in 2020 — before the launch of ChatGPT triggered a historic AI stock rally. Its renewed investment grew to about $3 billion by March, benefiting as Nvidia’s market value surged by over $2 trillion in the past two years.
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That rally, coupled with its lucrative stake in OpenAI, helped SoftBank deliver a surprise net profit of ¥2.5 trillion ($16.2 billion) in the fiscal second quarter, far exceeding analyst estimates. According to Bloomberg Intelligence, the group is now on course for its highest annual profit since 2020.
Son’s expansive AI vision includes the “Stargate” data center project and a proposed $1 trillion AI manufacturing hub in Arizona, initiatives that have drawn engagement with leaders such as former US President Donald Trump and executives from TSMC and major South Korean conglomerates. SoftBank has also explored acquisitions like Marvell Technology Inc. to deepen its chip and computing ecosystem.
Its sprawling AI portfolio now spans OpenAI, ByteDance, and Perplexity AI, propelling a 78% rise in SoftBank’s share price in the three months to September — the company’s best quarterly performance since 2005. The group also announced a 4-for-1 stock split effective January 1, aimed at making its shares more accessible to retail investors in Japan.
To support ongoing deals, SoftBank plans to fully invest the $22.5 billion pledged to OpenAI and has dropped earlier investment conditions. It is also acquiring Ampere Computing for $6.5 billion and ABB’s robotics unit for $5.4 billion. The company recently expanded a margin loan against its Arm Holdings stake to $20 billion and secured additional bridge loans totaling $17 billion to fund the OpenAI and Ampere transactions.
Analysts say SoftBank’s stock has already delivered hefty returns as a play on Arm and AI-linked assets. “The easy trade was to buy SoftBank for cheap exposure to Arm and AI,” noted Finimize Research on Smartkarma. “That bet has paid off — the stock’s more than doubled. But now the discount has closed, so it might be time to take profits.”
