SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has made his most audacious move yet in the artificial intelligence space—committing $33.2 billion to OpenAI. The announcement, made during SoftBank’s annual general meeting in Tokyo on June 27, signals not just an investment but a declaration: SoftBank is going all in on AI, aiming to lead the charge into what Son calls the age of “artificial superintelligence.”
According to Son, the future will be defined by machines thousands of times more intelligent than humans—and he believes OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, is best positioned to build that future. The bold commitment marks a strategic pivot for SoftBank and a personal redemption arc for Son, who acknowledged missing a chance to invest in OpenAI back in 2019 when Sam Altman approached SoftBank for $10 billion. That deal never happened, and Microsoft swooped in instead. Now, with this multibillion-dollar move, Son is determined to make up for lost time.
But the plan doesn’t stop at OpenAI. Son is building a vertically integrated AI empire. He spotlighted the pivotal role of Arm, the British chipmaker SoftBank owns, and its power-efficient chips that drive AI hardware globally. Add to that SoftBank’s $6.5 billion acquisition of US-based chip designer Ampere, and it’s clear the vision isn’t just about software—it’s about full-stack dominance.
Son’s endgame? Artificial superintelligence. He’s betting that whoever controls the foundational layers of AI—compute power, algorithms, and applications—will dominate the next era of tech in the same way Amazon, Google, and Microsoft control today’s digital infrastructure. With billions on the table and a clear strategy in motion, SoftBank is no longer playing catch-up. It wants to shape the AI future from the ground up.
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