Masayoshi Son bets Softbank's future on AI dominating decades into the future

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has made huge bets on AI and is now insisting that the Japanese giant’s future, in as little as 10 years, will also hinge on artificial superintelligence.

For Son, his bets on artificial superintelligence – AI that is capable of beating human thoughts – are not surprising given his huge appetite for risks, which has also brought about huge rewards.

SoftBank moves from brain computers to global AI bets

Back in 2000, he put $20 million into a then little-known Chinese start-up called Alibaba. The stake grew into one of the most lucrative technology investments of all time, generating billions for SoftBank. Now, Son wants to repeat the trick, only this time, his sights are set on artificial intelligence.

According to former colleagues, this fascination is not a recent whim. Alok Sama, who served as SoftBank’s finance chief, remembers a dinner where Son spoke quietly but intensely about the “singularity,” the moment machines outthink their makers. “He was thinking about it long before most people,” Sama recalls.

SoftBank’s march into AI has been relentless. In 2016, it bought British chip designer Arm for $32 billion, a move some at the time saw as risky. Today, Arm is worth more than four times that, and its technology underpins smartphones across the globe. Increasingly, it also powers AI data centers built by companies like Nvidia.

Son is not stopping there. This year, SoftBank agreed to acquire US chipmaker Ampere Computing for $6.5 billion and confirmed plans to invest up to $32.7 billion in OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT.

Analysts describe the strategy as spanning “the entire stack” — from foundational chips to cloud platforms, robotics and AI-driven applications in health, education and enterprise.

His enthusiasm dates back more than a decade. In 2010, he unveiled SoftBank’s “Next 30-Year Vision,” complete with talk of “brain computers” that could learn and adapt without human programming.

Robots soon followed. SoftBank’s humanoid robot Pepper, launched in 2014, could reportedly read emotions, though the project was later wound down after limited commercial success.

For Son, the lesson was not to abandon the concept but to look further ahead.

The company takes on an uncertain race

About eight years ago, Son created the Vision Fund and raised $100 billion to bankroll his ambitious tech investments.

Early bets included Uber, Didi and WeWork, ventures that promised scale but struggled with profitability. Losses, particularly in Chinese tech firms, shook investor confidence.

Insiders say some of those deals were tied to Son’s early conviction that autonomous vehicles would lead the first AI wave. The technology, however, matured more slowly than expected. Uber sold off its driverless unit and focused elsewhere.

By 2022, after record Vision Fund losses, SoftBank pulled back. That defensive posture meant missing early opportunities with emerging AI leaders.

Still, the Vision Fund today has a portfolio rich in AI-driven businesses, and Son believes the long-term play remains intact.

The broader market was turbulent, with the pandemic, inflation and rising interest rates hitting valuations. But SoftBank sees AI as being in its early phase — a cycle that could last decades.

As reported by the Cryptopolitan earlier this month, SoftBank has also purchased Foxconn’s Ohio plant in a $375 million deal to push the Stargate AI data center.

The push towards ever-more capable AI is intense, with US and Chinese companies vying to lead. Surprises still happen – Chinese firm DeepSeek shook markets this year by producing a reasoning model more cheaply than US rivals, challenging assumptions about who controls the field.

Analysts warn the sector’s infancy means today’s frontrunners may not dominate tomorrow. “Other challengers could still emerge from nowhere,” says Dan Baker of Morningstar.

If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter.