Softbank does exactly what Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang had made 'fun of' founder Masayoshi Son

SoftBank has sold its entire stake in Nvidia for $5.83 billion, reports Bloomberg. The sale comes as SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son gears up for a new wave of investments in artificial intelligence (AI). The move echoes a light-hearted moment between Son and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang . During his visit to Japan in November last year, Huang joked that Son was once Nvidia’s largest shareholder — before selling his stake too early. “We can cry together,” Huang told Son at the time, referring to the massive surge in Nvidia’s stock price since.


Softbank had increased its Nvidia stake to about $3 billion in March this year. After the Nvidia stake sale, the Tokyo-based company continues to hold stakes in other leading AI players, including OpenAI and Oracle Corp. These investments have fueled a 78% surge in SoftBank’s share price over the three months ending in September — its best quarterly performance since 2005.


As per the report, the stake, along with profits from its Vision Fund investment unit, helped SoftBank report a surprise net income of ¥2.5 trillion ($16.2 billion) in the fiscal second quarter — far above analyst expectations of ¥418.2 billion.


When Huang made fun of Masayoshi


At a summit in 2024, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang joined Softbank founder Masayoshi Son for a fireside chat. Introducing SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son on stage, Huang said:


"Masa is the only entrepreneur. Only entrepreneur, only innovator in the world. That has selected the winner. And partnered with the winner and every single generation."


"Remember, it was Masa that brought Bill Gates to Japan. It was Masa that invented or brought Jerry Yang to Japan. It was Masa that made possible for China's cloud industry to happen (Alibaba). It was Masa that brought Steve Jobs to Japan and the iPhone. And you maybe many of you probably don't know this, but at one point. Maasa was the largest shareholder of Nvidia."


Hearing this, Masayoshi Son cringed and playfully put his head on Nvidia CEO's shoulders as if crying. "It's okay. We can. We can cry. We can cry together. Could you imagine? If today. You are the largest shareholder. Oh, my God," said Huang.


SoftBank’s growing AI empire


Analysts see SoftBank’s AI focus as a key growth driver. “The number of bets from which SoftBank is successfully recouping its investment has increased, so we raise our forecasts,” Citigroup analyst Keiichi Yoneshima wrote in a note before the company’s earnings.


Son, 68, is ramping up investment in AI and semiconductor infrastructure while scaling back other projects. His initiatives include the Stargate data center rollout and a planned $30 billion investment in OpenAI. SoftBank is also in talks with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and others to create a $1 trillion AI manufacturing hub in Arizona.


The company has even explored acquiring US chipmaker Marvell Technology Inc. earlier this year.


However, SoftBank faces the challenge of balancing its massive AI investments — including roughly $20 billion for OpenAI and $6.5 billion for chip designer Ampere Computing LLC. Analysts have raised concerns over inflated AI valuations and whether the returns will justify the heavy spending.