The SoftBank founder spoke in detail for the first time about the sale of the entire NVIDIA stake. The step wasn’t easy – but he had no other choice.
• Son said he “cried” when he sold NVIDIA shares
• SoftBank sold 32.1 million shares for $5.83 billion in October
• SoftBank had already sold all NVIDIA shares in 2019 – an expensive mistake today
Masayoshi Son on NVIDIA stock sale: “I cried”
At the FII Priority Asia Forum in Tokyo on December 1, 2025, Masayoshi Son said he “cried” when he made the decision to sell NVIDIA shares. The SoftBank founder emphasized that he would not have sold a single share if the company had not urgently needed capital for new AI investments.
SoftBank announced on November 11, 2025 as part of its quarterly results that it had sold its entire NVIDIA stake – 32.1 million shares – in October for $5.83 billion. The proceeds will go towards financing the Japanese technology group’s growing AI ambitions, including participation in OpenAI and the construction of data centers as part of the so-called Stargate project.
OpenAI and the Stargate project
Son called SoftBank’s commitment to OpenAI an “all-in” bet and predicted that the company behind ChatGPT could one day become the most valuable in the world. SoftBank says it is investing $22.5 billion in OpenAI, increasing its stake from four to eleven percent. A further increase is possible, depending on the development of the company and future evaluation rounds.
The bet has paid off so far: In November 2025, SoftBank reported a quarterly profit of 2.5 trillion yen (around $16.6 billion) – more than doubling the previous year. A key driver was valuation gains from the OpenAI investment.
In addition to OpenAI, SoftBank has pursued other AI-related acquisitions. In March 2025, the company announced its acquisition of US chip designer Ampere Computing for $6.5 billion, which closed on November 25, 2025. This was followed in October 2025 by an agreement to purchase ABB’s robotics division for $5.375 billion.
Criticism of bubble warnings
At the forum, Son also firmly rejected concerns about a possible AI bubble. Anyone who talks about a bubble is simply “not smart enough,” said the SoftBank boss. He predicted that “super AI” and AI-powered robots would contribute at least 10 percent to global gross domestic product in the long term – more than enough to justify the trillion-dollar investment in the technology.
This is not the first time that SoftBank has completely exited an NVIDIA position. The Vision Fund had already sold its stake of around $4 billion in 2019. These shares would be worth more than $150 billion today – a fact that is seen as a cautionary tale in investor circles.
D. Maier / editorial team finanzen.net
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