By writing-up their stake in OpenAI, naturellement.
From Nikkei Asia, February 12:
SoftBank profit quintuples as OpenAI bet lifts Vision Funds
IPOs set to to deliver 'significant value' to Japanese tech investor, says CFO
IPOs set to to deliver 'significant value' to Japanese tech investor, says CFO
SoftBank Group on Thursday reported a net profit of 3.17 trillion yen ($20.7 billion) for the nine months through December, five times that of a year earlier, boosted by a rise in the value of its stake in ChatGPT maker OpenAI.
The latest result was driven by gains at the tech-heavy Vision Funds, which booked an investment profit of 3.91 trillion yen, reflecting valuation increases in key artificial intelligence holdings, including OpenAI.
At a Thursday earnings briefing, Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto said SoftBank was "steadily laying the groundwork" to become "the No. 1 platform player in the age of artificial superintelligence."
The earnings underscore Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son's renewed push into AI after several years of retrenchment following heavy losses at the Vision Funds. SoftBank, which built its fortune through early bets on companies such as China's Alibaba, has repositioned itself as an AI-focused investment group, with Son describing AI as the company's next core growth pillar.
Son has sharply expanded SoftBank's exposure to OpenAI, investing $22.5 billion in the ChatGPT developer at the end of 2025 and reportedly discussing a further investment of up to $30 billion. The move marks one of SoftBank's largest single-company commitments since the launch of its Vision Fund strategy in 2017.
"We are deeply aligned with OpenAI's vision of ensuring AGI [artificial general intelligence] benefits all of humanity," Son said in a statement in December.
On Thursday, Goto said "no specific decisions have been made at this stage" regarding any additional investment in OpenAI, but added that many late-stage holdings such as OpenAI and ByteDance were likely to move toward initial public offerings and capital recovery on a relatively short timeline, delivering "significant value" for SoftBank....
....MUCH MORE
If interested see also October 2024's - SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son Sees AI Evolving To A Point Where Your Happiness Will Be its Greatest Reward
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