SoftBank Sells Entire Nvidia Stake for $5.83 Billion

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology company SoftBank Group Corp. announced on Tuesday that it has sold its entire stake in Nvidia Corp. for $5.83 billion. The sale was completed in October.

SoftBank’s latest earnings report revealed that the company nearly tripled its profit for the first half of its fiscal year, thanks in part to its investments in companies like OpenAI. Sales rose 7.7% to 3.7 trillion yen ($24 billion) during the April-September period.

Masayoshi Son, founder of SoftBank, emphasized the growth potential in artificial intelligence. Although the sale of Nvidia shares may surprise some investors, SoftBank has a history of buying and selling its stakes in the AI chip maker. The firm initially invested $4 billion in Nvidia in 2017 but reduced its holdings in January 2019.

The Vision Fund, which is part of SoftBank, has been active in the AI sector, forging partnerships and investing heavily in various AI-related ventures, from chip manufacturers to cutting-edge software.

Yoshimitsu Goto, SoftBank’s Chief Financial Officer, noted that their success this quarter was largely driven by their early investment in OpenAI. He stated during an investor presentation, “OpenAI’s valuation ranks among the largest in the world.”

Despite the sale of its Nvidia stake, SoftBank’s business interests continue to overlap with Nvidia’s technology. The company is involved in several AI projects, including the $500 billion Stargate initiative aimed at enhancing data centers across the U.S.

SoftBank also reported investment gains from its holdings in Arm Holdings and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., both of which have experienced substantial benefits from the rising demand for AI technologies. On Tuesday, SoftBank’s stock surged nearly 2%, marking significant growth over the last year.