Source: CLS.cn

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For SoftBank and Masayoshi Son, the successful listing of chip design company Arm has timely replenished their investment "ammunition depot," and their next main battlefield has been determined—AI.

On September 16th local time, the Financial Times reported that after Arm's listing, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son hopes to continue investing billions of dollars in the field of AI, with OpenAI being one of the potential investment targets.

Competitors of OpenAI are also under consideration by Masayoshi Son, and the report stated that he also plans to acquire the UK chip company Graphcore to deepen their layout in the field of AI.

However, all three companies mentioned above responded affirmatively to the rumors. SoftBank and OpenAI stated "no comment," while Graphcore directly denied "receiving a takeover offer from SoftBank."

Regardless of the investment target in the field of AI, SoftBank seems to be eager to try. According to sources close to Masayoshi Son's inner circle, his enthusiasm for investment has surged strongly in recent months, and he is switching to "attack mode."

Last Thursday, Arm was listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange and was warmly welcomed by investors. The company's IPO rose nearly 25% on the first day, with a market value exceeding $65 billion, making it the largest IPO globally this year. Two trading days later, Arm's current stock price is $60.75, with a market value of $62.3 billion.

After Arm's IPO, SoftBank still controls about 90% of the company's shares, and Masayoshi Son continues to serve as the chairman of Arm's board. Forbes estimates Masayoshi Son's net worth to be over $24 billion, ranking him 69th on the world's rich list.

Analysts said that Arm's initial public offering on Thursday raised nearly $5 billion, which will expand SoftBank's fund size to $65 billion, including SoftBank's own cash and using its remaining 90% stake in Arm as collateral for loans.

It is not surprising that Masayoshi Son chose AI. He has hinted at this investment direction three or five times in public this year.

On the day of Arm's listing, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son expressed his support for AI in an interview, stating that artificial intelligence can help solve some of the world's biggest problems and may surpass human intelligence. "I think I am a believer in artificial intelligence. I optimistically believe that artificial intelligence will solve problems that humans have been unable to solve in the past."

In June of this year, Masayoshi Son stated at SoftBank's annual shareholders' meeting that artificial intelligence is bringing about explosive changes, and the company will soon launch an offensive to end the relatively dormant state of the venture capital field over the past year. "Now is the time to shift gears. The singularity of the artificial intelligence revolution is imminent. In the next 10 years, artificial intelligence will change the world, and SoftBank is prepared with ample ammunition."

He described himself as a "heavy user" of ChatGPT, chatting with it almost every day, and has a close relationship with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, whom Masayoshi Son describes as "one of the key figures on Earth."

According to media reports, SoftBank's mobile division has already established a business partnership with OpenAI, providing services to Japanese companies wishing to deploy generative artificial intelligence technologies such as chatbots. In addition, SoftBank's mobile subsidiary also expressed a desire to develop its own Japanese version of ChatGPT.

The former global technology investment giant SoftBank will re-enter the arms race in AI. However, it is important to note that SoftBank is currently facing significant challenges. The first-quarter financial report showed that the SoftBank Vision Fund lost 297.5 billion yen, equivalent to 15.33 billion yuan, in three months, and the loss in the same period last year was 2.2 trillion yen, or 113.3 billion yuan.

Due to poor investments, the SoftBank Group has been reported to be planning a new round of layoffs for its investment department—the Vision Fund, which is expected to be announced in the next two weeks, affecting as many as 30% of employees.

The huge losses have also significantly reduced SoftBank's investment activities. According to data from Zero2IPO, the SoftBank Vision Fund (No. 1 and No. 2) has only made four investments so far this year, with only one of the invested companies being related to AI.

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