SoftBank just pulled the trigger on a massive sell.
In a bold reshuffle of its AI war chest, Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank dumped its entire stake in Nvidia, pocketing $5.83 billion in cash.
That’s right—SoftBank, one of the earliest believers in Nvidia’s AI hardware boom, just cashed out at the peak of the AI frenzy. The timing raised eyebrows across Silicon Valley and Tokyo alike. But for Son, this isn’t retreat—it’s reloading.
Betting Big, Again
Here’s the twist: SoftBank’s Nvidia exit isn’t about cooling on chips—it’s about going all-in on everything beyond them.
The sale frees up capital for an AI empire Son’s been sketching for months:
- “Stargate” data centers across the U.S.
- AI robotics plants in Arizona.
- Massive equity in OpenAI and Ampere Computing.
This isn’t the first time Son has made a sharp pivot. He sold Nvidia once before in 2019, bought back in 2020, and rode the post-ChatGPT wave. The result? A tidy multi-billion-dollar profit—and the fuel to go after something even larger.
“We sold Nvidia so that the capital can be utilized for our financing,” CFO Yoshimitsu Goto told reporters—corporate-speak for we’re gearing up for the next frontier.
The Numbers Behind the Drama
SoftBank’s latest quarter was blistering:
- Net income: ¥2.5 trillion ($16.2 billion), its best in three years.
- Stock price: up 78 percent in three months.
- Arm Holdings margin loan: expanded to $20 billion.
- AI exposure: through OpenAI, ByteDance, Perplexity AI, and now Ampere.
That performance has turned SoftBank’s stock into Japan’s unofficial AI ETF. For investors, it’s the easiest way to buy exposure to the global AI arms race—until now.
Why Dump Nvidia?
On paper, Nvidia is the crown jewel of the AI age. But Son’s logic is pure SoftBank: he’s not after the shovels in the gold rush—he wants the land.
By cashing out, SoftBank can finance infrastructure—the physical and digital backbone that powers the next trillion-dollar wave. Think cloud hardware, AI manufacturing, and sovereign data centers—the kind of bets that turn chip profits into national strategy.
This also fits Son’s pattern: sell high, pivot to vision. Sometimes it works spectacularly (Arm, Alibaba); other times, not so much (WeWork).
The Market’s Split Reaction
Investors had mixed feelings. Nvidia stock dipped about 1.3 percent in pre-market trading after the disclosure. Some read it as a red flag, others as SoftBank simply doing what it does best—making money, fast.
Kirk Boodry at Bloomberg Intelligence called it “a liquidity play,” adding that SoftBank’s cash flexibility is now its strongest weapon in the AI race.
Still, the timing fuels a broader question: Is this the top of the AI investment cycle? With tech giants projected to pour over $1 trillion into AI by 2030, the line between conviction and bubble is getting blurry.
Inside Son’s AI Obsession
Masayoshi Son’s obsession with AI borders on mythic. He once said he wanted SoftBank to be the “architect of the singularity.”
Now, he’s putting money where that mouth is:
- A $1 trillion AI manufacturing hub in Arizona.
- The Vision Fund 2 pledging $22.5 billion to OpenAI.
- Talks with TSMC and South Korean giants to anchor next-gen chip supply.
He’s even courted U.S. President Donald Trump for support—proof that this isn’t just corporate expansion; it’s geopolitical theater.
The Bigger Story: AI’s New Power Map
SoftBank’s move is part of a larger realignment in global AI economics.
- Nvidia still dominates GPUs, but its valuation leaves little room for upside.
- SoftBank now wants to own the layers above the silicon—data, compute, and applications.
- That puts it head-to-head with giants like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google Cloud in a scramble for AI infrastructure dominance.
The money is staggering. But so are the risks. Infrastructure plays burn cash faster than they mint it—and AI returns remain uncertain.
What Comes Next
Expect SoftBank to go deal-hunting. Analysts say it’s circling U.S. chip designer Ampere Computing for $6.5 billion and robotics firm ABB’s arm for $5.4 billion.
If Son nails those, SoftBank morphs from a passive tech investor into an AI manufacturer. That’s a strategic shift with ripple effects across the globe—from semiconductor supply chains to data-sovereignty politics.
Conclusion
SoftBank didn’t just sell Nvidia—it traded chips for control.
By freeing up nearly $6 billion, Son is betting he can build the next generation of AI hardware, infrastructure, and platforms before anyone else.
It’s risky. It’s audacious. It’s classic Masayoshi Son.
And if he’s right, this won’t be remembered as SoftBank’s “exit from Nvidia”—but as the moment it doubled down on the future of intelligence itself.