SoftBank’s Son lays out vision to be No. 1 in artificial superintelligence
SoftBank’s investment plans have come under scrutiny as Japan tries to close a deal with the Trump administration.
TOKYO—SoftBank’s founder wants to make his company the world leader in artificial superintelligence—a hypothetical form of AI that is smarter than humans—within the next 10 years.
“I am betting all in on the world of ASI," SoftBank Group Chief Executive Masayoshi Son said at an annual shareholder meeting held in Tokyo on Friday.
In the next decade, Son thinks only a handful of companies will reap the benefits from the around 600 trillion yen, equivalent to $4.155 trillion, of profit to be made from ASI.
A key part of Son’s strategy is strengthening the Japanese technology investment company’s relationship with OpenAI.
SoftBank will have invested up to $32 billion in OpenAI by the end of this year, the CEO said, making it one of the largest single investments ever made in a private company.
In February, the two companies announced a plan to set up a joint venture to provide major Japanese companies with advanced enterprise AI called “Cristal intelligence," which helps automate and autonomize tasks and work flows.
“OpenAI will eventually go public and become the most valuable company on Earth," Son said, expecting a listing to happen in the next few years.
SoftBank, which has backed high-profile tech names such as Alibaba and Arm, has been stepping up its push into AI. Last July, it acquired U.K.-based AI chip maker Graphcore, and this year it announced the acquisition of U.S. semiconductor design company Ampere Computing in a $6.5 billion deal.
Earlier this year, SoftBank and OpenAI announced a joint project called Stargate to build infrastructure for the ChatGPT maker. Database company Oracle and MGX, an investor backed by the United Arab Emirates, are also equity partners in the venture.
The companies have pledged to invest up to $500 billion in Stargate over the next four years.
SoftBank’s investment plans have come under scrutiny as Japan tries to close a deal with the Trump administration, which is looking to fill a trade gap and invite more foreign investment into the U.S. to protect the economy.
Asked by a shareholder about his relationship with President Trump, Son said he has often visited the White House and emphasized the importance of working closely with the U.S. administration.
“America is the world’s largest AI hub and the technical epicenter of this revolution," Son said. “America is where the greatest opportunities lie."
News Corp, owner of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires, has a content-licensing partnership with OpenAI.
Write to Megumi Fujikawa at megumi.fujikawa@wsj.com
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