Japan’s SoftBank Group has sold its entire stake in chipmaker Nvidia for $5.83 billion as part of its ongoing strategy to divest and reinvest capital, the company revealed Tuesday. The move comes as SoftBank doubles down on artificial intelligence, particularly its growing investments in OpenAI, helping the conglomerate report first-half profits nearly triple those of the previous year.
Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto described the sale as part of SoftBank’s “fate” to continually reallocate capital and confirmed that some of the proceeds would help fund its expanding stake in OpenAI. SoftBank has invested in OpenAI multiple times since September, following the American startup’s for-profit restructuring, which paves the way for up to $30 billion in new funding from the Japanese group, expected to be finalized later this year.
Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son has emphasized the company’s commitment to AI, pledging in June to make SoftBank the leading platform provider for what he terms “artificial super intelligence” within the next decade. For the six months ending September, the company reported a net profit of 2.92 trillion yen ($18.9 billion), primarily driven by gains in the value of its OpenAI holdings totaling 2.15 trillion yen, far exceeding market forecasts of 716.2 billion yen compiled by QUICK, a Nikkei affiliate.
Alongside its AI investments, SoftBank has been active in semiconductors. In August, it committed $2 billion to acquire roughly a 2% stake in U.S. chipmaker Intel, a move aligning with Washington’s push to bolster domestic chip production while enhancing SoftBank’s semiconductor footprint. The company also partially sold its holdings in T-Mobile between June and September, totaling $9.17 billion.
Despite the surge in profits, Goto acknowledged market volatility and investor concerns about overexposure to high-valuation tech companies. “AI is a technology that is only beginning to advance in development and service deployment, so it is difficult to determine how it should be valued,” he said, adding that investor attention toward AI is a healthy sign and that balancing risk with opportunity remains critical.
SoftBank’s aggressive moves have propelled its share price sharply higher. Shares hit a record 27,695 yen in late October, roughly triple their level at the start of the year, before closing at 22,695 yen on Tuesday. The company also announced a four-for-one stock split in January, with the year-end dividend set at 5.50 yen per share.
Beyond U.S. tech, SoftBank’s Vision Fund has been active in Asia, bringing portfolio companies to market. India’s largest eyewear retailer, Lenskart, debuted on local exchanges on Monday, while Hong Kong-based travel platform Klook filed for an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, signaling renewed momentum in international listings.
SoftBank’s Nvidia sale and OpenAI expansion highlight the company’s strategy to concentrate on transformative AI technology while selectively reallocating capital from other high-profile tech holdings to fuel growth in emerging sectors.
