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OpenAI is allowing employees to sell roughly $1.5 billion worth of shares in a new tender offer to SoftBank, CNBC has learned. Employees will have until Dec. 24 to decide if they want to participate in the new tender offer, which has not previously been reported, one of the people said. The tender offer is not related to OpenAI's potential plans to restructure the firm to a for-profit business, one of the people said. The OpenAI investment matches SoftBank's eagerness to deploy cash, with a capital-intensive business model, a person close to Son told CNBC. The company also received a $4 billion revolving line of credit, bringing its total liquidity to more than $10 billion.

Persons: Masayoshi Son, OpenAI, SoftBank, Son Organizations: CNBC, Employees, Apple, Qualcomm, SoftBank's, Microsoft, Nvidia

☆ Musk Adds Microsoft to OpenAI Lawsuit, Accusing Them of an AI Monopoly
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-15 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Elon Musk has added Microsoft as a defendant to an amended lawsuit against OpenAI. The suit, which also adds Reid Hoffman as defendant, accuses Microsoft and OpenAI of forming a monopoly. AdvertisementThe suit describes Microsoft's partnership with OpenAI as a "de facto merger" and said, "Microsoft is now OpenAI, and OpenAI, Microsoft." The amended lawsuit is the latest escalation between longtime rivals Musk and Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI. Microsoft, OpenAI, and Hoffman didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.

Persons: Elon Musk, Reid Hoffman, OpenAI, —, Shivon Zilis, Zilis, Musk, Mustafa Suleyman, Sam Altman, cofounders Altman, Greg Brockman, SoftBank, Navneet Govil, Govil, BI's Hasan Chowdhury, Hoffman didn't, Hoffman Organizations: Microsoft, OpenAI, Service, Bloomberg, New York Times, OpenAI's San, Financial Times, Business Locations: Neuralink, Northern California, OpenAI's, OpenAI's San Francisco

Buy now, pay later firms like Klarna and Block's Afterpay could be about to face tougher rules in the U.K.Klarna, which is known for its popular buy now, pay later business, announced Wednesday that it's confidentially filed IPO documents with the SEC. The company said the offering would follow the SEC's review process and is subject to market conditions. Analysts recently valued Klarna, which was founded in 2005, in the $15 billion range. Klarna's decision to go pursue a listing in the U.S. represents a major blow to European stock exchanges, which have been trying to encourage local tech companies to list at home. "European IPO markets have seen some recovery as of Q3 this year," she added.

Persons: Block's, it's confidentially, Klarna, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CNBC's, Siemiatkowski, Siemiatkowski hadn't, Navina Rajan, We've, Rajan Organizations: SEC, SoftBank's Vision, Sequoia Capital, CNBC, Apple, Meta, London Stock Exchange Locations: London, Europe, U.S

☆ SoftBank is betting on AI and an IPO revival after swinging to a $7.7 billion profit
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-12 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

SoftBank reported a $7.7 billion quarterly profit on Tuesday after a loss last year. SoftBank Vision Fund's CFO told BI that "macro tailwinds" helped its public portfolio. AdvertisementGains for its Vision Fund 1, a $98.6 billion investment vehicle launched in 2016 with backing from Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth funds, totaled $3 billion in the second quarter. Despite the investment gain, Vision Fund 2 has lost an overall total of $21 billion since its inception. The results come as SoftBank gears up for a huge investment spree in AI to realize Son's ambitious vision.

Persons: SoftBank, —, Masayoshi, Didi Chuxing, Navneet Govil, Ola, Govil, PayPay Organizations: Service, Funds, Vision, IPOs, Nvidia Locations: Abu Dhabi, Saudi, China, OpenAI, Mexico, India, ByteDance

☆ What to know about Perplexity, the buzzy — and controversial — AI startup targeting a big funding round
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-21 | by ( Geoff Weiss | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Perplexity is eyeing a massive funding round this year, The Wall Street Journal had reported. The Times alleged that Perplexity was violating copyright laws by using its content to create news summaries, according to Reuters. In a statement to Reuters, Srinivas said: "We are very much interested in working with every single publisher, including The New York Times. AdvertisementOn Monday, the Journal and New York Post owner News Corp. filed a lawsuit against Perplexity, also alleging copyright infringement. While Perplexity has dealt with criticism from media outlets, its rival OpenAI has struck deals with publishers to use their content.

Persons: —, Perplexity, Aravind Srinivas, Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, Andy Konwinski, Srinivas —, Jeff Bezos, Forbes, Srinivas, OpenAI, Microsoft — Organizations: Corp, Street Journal, Service, Google, Street, New York Post, Business, Nvidia, SoftBank's, Forbes, Wired, New York Times, News Corp, The New York Times, Microsoft, Reuters, The Times, Perplexity

☆ OpenAI's investors include Silicon Valley's most prolific bubble chasers. Is that a bad sign for the company's future?
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-03 | by ( Darius Rafieyan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

AdvertisementOpenAI has officially closed a historic funding round. AdvertisementTiger Global is also one of the firms that backed OpenAI in this latest funding round. AdvertisementNotably absent from the list of OpenAI investors was Apple, which is said to have dropped out of the deal at the 11th hour. Apple's inclusion in OpenAI's funding round may have gone a long way toward quieting doubts about OpenAI's palace intrigue and general chaotic vibe. A few weeks ago, this funding round was being talked about as the arrival of the adults in the room.

Persons: OpenAI, —, Adam Neuman, Masayoshi Son, Neuman, SoftBank, Morningstar, You'd, Goldman Sachs, Tim Cook, Cook, Elon Musk Organizations: Nvidia, United, United Arab Emirates, Service, SoftBank's, Business, Ark Venture, BI, Apple Locations: United Arab, Silicon, Silicon Valley

☆ OpenAI is just one piece of the puzzle in SoftBank's grand vision for AI
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-02 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

It will also end the week with another reputation: a new piece in the grand puzzle being solved by Masayoshi Son. Related storiesMasayoshi Son's AI vision is ambitiousOpenAI CEO Sam Altman will form just one part of Masayoshi Son's AI plans. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty ImagesTo understand Son's grand AI ambitions, it's worth first zooming out to see how SoftBank currently maps out AI investment opportunities. As of June, Vision Fund 1's gains were $21.7 billion, while Vision Fund 2 losses totaled $22.9 billion. AdvertisementSo it's become clear that Son's focus has fallen on the other part of his AI investment stack.

Persons: —, Masayoshi Son, Sam, Sam Altman's, ChatGPT, Sam Altman, Andrew Caballero, Reynolds, SoftBank, it'll, Son's, it's, Son, Michael M, Graphcore, Nigel Toon, OpenAI's Altman, Lionel Barber, Barber Organizations: Service, Bloomberg, Getty, Business, Microsoft, Vision, Vision Fund, Nvidia, Nikkei, Wall Street, Financial Times Locations: Tokyo, AFP

☆ Distinction between Softbank's AI strategy and Vision Fund: Analyst
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailNeed to differentiate between Softbank's AI strategy and the Vision Fund's investment in OpenAIKirk Boodry of Astris Advisory says SoftBank's strategy around generative AI, which targets downstream companies, needs to be separated from the Vision Fund's investment in OpenAI.

Persons: OpenAI Kirk Boodry Organizations: Astris Locations: OpenAI

☆ Masayoshi Son is the $100 billion gambler who went from dirt track to tech titan — and he isn't done betting yet
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-28 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has spent his life putting bold bets on the future of technology. SoftBank, the media-technology conglomerate Son founded two decades prior, was riding high on the glory it attained in the dot-com boom. He was told he was special," Barber told BI. "He wants to be seen as the great modernizer transforming this petrostate into a truly modern economy where technology is at the forefront," Barber told BI. But as previous cycles in Son's life dictate, the flurry of enthusiasm is typically followed by failure.

Persons: Masayoshi Son, Lionel Barber, —, Son, Bill Gates, Masa —, Uber, Barber, Vladimir Putin, Barack Obama, — he's, Jack Ma's Alibaba, Wang, he's, Napoleon Bonaparte, Genghis Khan, Qin Shi Huang, Emperor of, Microsoft's Gates, Jordan Strauss, Mitsunori, SoftBank, Rupert Murdoch, Larry Ellison, Jack Welch, Steve Jobs, Masayoshi, Justin Sullivan, Rajeev Misra, Nikesh Arora, Phil McCarten, Abu Dhabi's Mubadala, Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi, Michael Moritz, Kim Jong, Adam Neumann, Donald Trump, Wirecard, Jesus, NurPhoto, He's, Allen Lane Organizations: Service, Financial Times, Kremlin, Yahoo, Popular Electronics, Vision, Deutsche Bank, Google, Reuters, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Vision Fund, Valley's, Sequoia Capital, Greensill, Nvidia, Signal Publishers Locations: Tokyo's Roppongi, Japan, Masayoshi, Washington, Wayne, Emperor of China, Kyushu, United States, Riyadh, Berkeley, Las Vegas

☆ Middle East wealth funds are scrambling to rescue their big bets on the future
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-08 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Go to newsletter preferencesSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. A particular focus for these funds built on the back of petrodollars has been to build ownership and influence in the tech sector. FETHI BELAIDOver the past week, PIF and Mubadala have been busy figuring out what to do when their unbridled ambitions for tech companies face reality. Reports from the Financial Times and Bloomberg have shone a light on efforts being made by the sovereign wealth fund to boost returns in European startups in which it has invested billions of dollars. AdvertisementSeveral of these nascent tech companies, such as the insurance firm WeFox, have been bruised by shifting sentiment in the markets in recent years.

Persons: —, Abu Dhabi's Mubadala, SoftBank's, ByteDance, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Peter Rawlinson, Lucid, John Keeble, Rawlinson, PIF, it's, Mubadala Organizations: Service, Saudi, Public Investment Fund, Business, PIF, Financial Times, Bloomberg Locations: Middle, petrodollars, Saudi, California

☆ SoftBank swings back to gains at Vision Fund tech arm, announces up to $3.4 billion share buyback
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-07 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

SoftBank Group booked a 1.9 billion yen ($12.9 million) investment gain on its Vision Fund tech investment arm in the company's fiscal first quarter ended in June, swinging back into the black. However, the Vision Fund segment as a whole posted a 204.3 billion yen loss, after being in profit in the same quarter last year. The Japanese giant also announced it would buy back up to 6.8% of shares available in the company amounting to up to 500 billion yen ($3.4 billion). In the year ago quarter, SoftBank posted 159.77 billion yen gain in its Vision Fund. In the March quarter, SoftBank posted a loss of 57.53 billion yen in its flagship tech investment arm.

Persons: ByteDance —, SoftBank Organizations: SoftBank, Corp, Vision Fund, Vision, Bank of Japan Locations: Tokyo, Japan

☆ Alexa Von Tobel Is the Super Connector of New York's Buzzy Tech Scene
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-31 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Inspired Capital co-founders Lucy Deland (left), Alexa von Tobel (center), and Mark Batsiyan (right) speak to portfolio companies at the firm's annual founder dinner in June 2024. Born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, von Tobel attended Harvard University, where she graduated with a degree in psychology. AdvertisementInspired Capital co-founders Alexa von Tobel and Penny Pritzker. Inspired Capital founding partners Mark Batsiyan, Lucy Deland, Alexa von Tobel, and Penny Pritzker. Although von Tobel was on vacation outside the country, she stepped away from a fancy dinner to take McNulty Rojas's call and brainstorm solutions.

Persons: Alexa von Tobel, she's, Lucy Deland, Mark Batsiyan, It's, von Tobel, Capital's, who's, Zuckerburg, I've, Morgan Stanley, —, LearnVest, Batsiyan, Alexa, they'd, von Tobel's, Penny Pritzker, Obama, Brynne McNulty Rojas, — von Tobel, McNulty Rojas, Habi, Tobel, Von, Deland, it's, von, McNulty, hasn't, guac, She's, Benjamin Vandiver, Ivan Zhao, Lindsey Vonn Organizations: Flatiron, Business, New York VC, Harvard University, Facebook, Harvard Business School, Accel Partners, American Express Ventures, Northwest Mutual, LearnVest, Ventures, Northwest, Capital, Harvard, of Commerce, America Fund, Tiger Global Management, II, Alexa, Inc, Magazine, Winder, New York Locations: Jacksonville , Florida, New York, Deland, Miami, Latin America, York

☆ SoftBank stock hits its first record high in 24 years — Arm and AI helped it get there
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-04 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

The rise of the internet and of Yahoo pushed SoftBank's stock to a peak closing price of 10,111.1 yen on Feb. 18, 2000. After lingering near then-record highs in March 2021, SoftBank's stock fell sharply, alongside other global tech stocks. "Softbank Vision Fund had to write down various investments due to a combination of equity values declining and a tougher private financing environment. Dan Baker, senior equity analyst at Morningstar, said a lot of SoftBank's price appreciation comes down to Arm. Baker said the SOTP valuation remains just under 50% this year, meaning SoftBank's stock does not truly reflect the value of its various businesses and investments.

Persons: Kosuke Okahara, Masayoshi Son, Softbank, SoftBank, Son, Oliver Matthew, Paul Golding, Golding, Dan Baker, I'm, Baker, " Baker, . Organizations: ARM, SoftBank, Bloomberg, Getty, Yahoo, Vision, Vision Fund, Beijing, CNBC, Macquarie U.S, Morningstar, Nikkei Locations: Tokyo, British, Japan, U.S, Alibaba

☆ SoftBank CEO goes on 'AI offensive' after selling Nvidia too soon
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailSoftBank CEO goes on 'AI offensive' after selling Nvidia too soonCNBC's Deirdre Bosa joins 'The Exchange' with details about SoftBank's next moves.

Persons: Deirdre Bosa, SoftBank's Organizations: Nvidia

☆ SoftBank CEO says AI that is 10,000 times smarter than humans will come out in 10 years
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-21 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Masayoshi Son, chairman and chief executive officer of SoftBank Group Corp., speaks during the company's annual general meeting in Tokyo, Japan, on Friday, June 20, 2024. Son sketched out ambitions to help create AI thousands of times smarter than any human, making his most grandiose pronouncements since the Japanese conglomerate began taking steps to shore up its finances following a series of ill-timed startup bets. Artificial intelligence that is 10,000 times smarter than humans will be here in 10 years, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son said on Friday, in a rare public appearance during which he questioned his own purpose in life. The CEO first talked about another term — artificial general intelligence, or AGI — which broadly refers to AI that is smarter than humans. Son said this tech is likely to be one to 10 times smarter than humans and will arrive in the next three-to-five years, earlier than he had anticipated.

Persons: Son, Masayoshi Son Organizations: SoftBank Group Corp, ASI Locations: Tokyo, Japan

☆ 'Going up against them is insane.' Brave startups are trying to usurp Nvidia's AI throne.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Alistair Barr | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

You could have invested a lot of money in AI chip startups several years ago. "Us going up against them is insane," said Thomas Sohmers, CEO of Positron AI, a chip startup that emerged from stealth a few months ago. "The model of AI chip startups needing to raise 10s to 100s of millions of dollars before they actually test product market fit is insane," he added. TigrisOpenAI's Altman may also be working on an AI chip startup of his own. So it stands to reason that Masa has been trying to raise money for an AI chip startup.

Persons: —, Graphcore, Thomas Sohmers, Nvidia Thomas Sohmers, Sohmers, Groq, Googlers, Puneet Kumar, Mark Hayter, Rivos, Andrew de los Reyes, Gavin Uberti, Chris Zhu, Nvidia's, OpenAI's Sam Altman, OpenAI's Altman, Altman, Masa, Softbank, Son Organizations: Service, Microsoft, Samsung, Business, Nvidia, MediaNews, Boston Herald, Getty, MIT, Google, Chrome, Matrix Capital, Intel, Harvard, Bloomberg News, Bloomberg Locations: Silicon Valley, Swiss, Groq, GroqWare, WeWork

☆ CNBC Daily Open: Nvidia pushes past $3 trillion
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Abid Ali | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Nvidia passes AppleArtificial intelligence chipmaker Nvidia surpassed the $3 trillion market capitalization mark, pushing past Apple to become the second most valuable company behind Microsoft. Baron backs Musk's pay dealBillionaire investor Ron Baron has publicly defended Elon Musk's controversial $56 billion Tesla pay package. Elliott retakes SoftBank stakeElliott Management, an activist investor, has taken a $2 billion stake in SoftBank and is pushing for a $15 billion share buyback. In 2020, at Elliott's urging, SoftBank launched a $20 billion share buyback and asset disposal program.

Persons: Ron Baron, Elon, Baron, Elliott retakes SoftBank, Elliott, SoftBank, Son's, Archer, Goldman Sachs Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, CNBC, Nvidia, Nasdaq, Hewlett Packard Enterprises, Dow Jones, Treasury, Apple, Microsoft, Baron Capital, Elliott Management, Electric, FAA, Archer Aviation, Federal Aviation Administration, United Airlines Locations: New York City, U.S, Tesla, Delaware, SoftBank, Elliott's

☆ Elliott builds $2 billion position in SoftBank, pushes for buyback
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Investment firm Elliott Management has rebuilt its position in Japanese conglomerate SoftBank and is pushing the Masayoshi Son-led firm to begin a $15 billion share buyback, according to a person familiar with the matter. The news, first reported by the Financial Times, sent SoftBank shares up as much as 6.3%. SoftBank shares have surged in recent months largely off the back of its Arm investment. SoftBank's Japanese shares trade at their highest level in decades. SoftBank launched a $20 billion share buyback and asset disposal program in 2020 during Elliott's initial campaign.

Persons: Son, Elliott, SoftBank, Elliot, Nabeel Bhanji, unfriendliness, WeWork Organizations: SoftBank Group Corp, University of Tokyo, Investment, Elliott Management, Financial Times, Tokyo Stock Exchange, Mitsubishi Fudosan, Toshiba, Dai Nippon Printing, Vision Locations: Tokyo, Japan, SoftBank, China

☆ SoftBank shares jump up to 6.3% on report that Elliott Management's pushing for $15 billion in buybacks
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Sheila Chiang | In Sheilachiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

SoftBank Group Corp. is scheduled to announce its earnings figures on May 13. Elliott is lobbying for $15 billion worth of share buybacks, arguing that the buybacks will boost SoftBank's share price and "act as a sign of Son's confidence in his strategy," the Financial Times reported. SoftBank shares hit a high of 9,572 yen on Wednesday, 6.32% higher than its Tuesday closing price, according to LSEG data. Elliott had invested $2.5 billion in SoftBank in 2020 and sought share buybacks worth $20 billion along with governance changes, Financial Times reported that year. SoftBank Group declined to comment.

Persons: Toru Hanai, Elliott, SoftBank, Elliott's, Masayoshi Son Organizations: SoftBank Corp, SoftBank Group Corp, Bloomberg, Getty, SoftBank, Elliott Management, Financial Times, U.S Locations: Tokyo, Japan, SoftBank

But while the company's profile in the industry has stayed constant and swaggering, behind the curtain, its business has been increasingly troubled, 10 insiders told Business Insider. Creator economy professionals mingled beneath glowing jellyfish and coral light fixtures inside Jellysmack's creator lounge during VidCon 2023. "As a startup in the ever-evolving creator economy, we are constantly testing and adapting our business model," the Jellysmack spokesperson told BI in a statement. Advertisement"The world was falling apart with the pandemic, but early Jellysmack felt like a dream," the second former staffer told BI. BI viewed two Jellysmack contracts and an email exchange between Jellysmack and one of its creator clients to verify the practice.

Persons: —, SoftBank, lanyards, Jellymack, Jellysmack, YouTubers, Brad Mondo, Meta, Michael Philippe, Jellysmack cofounders Swann Maizil, Robin Sabban, Nathan Guetta, Condé Nast, Youri Hazanov, Sean Atkins, hasn't, Snapchat —, Amanda Perelli, JellyFi, deprioritize, that's, it's, Ollie Forsyth, They've Organizations: Service, Business, Facebook, influencers, BI, YouTube, Disney, Comcast, Keli, Big Tech, cryptocurrency, MTV, HBO, Copyright Capital, SoftBank, Productions, OKA Media, Network Media LLC, Crime, Star, Spotify, Crime Network Locations: VidCon, SoftBank

☆ SoftBank's Arm to reportedly launch AI chips by 2025 to capture explosive demand
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Sheila Chiang | In Sheilachiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

SoftBank Group subsidiary Arm is planning to launch artificial intelligence chips by next year, according to a Nikkei Asia report, as the battle for AI chip dominance intensifies. SoftBank is in discussion with contract manufacturers including Taiwan's TSMC to produce the AI chips, the report added. Arm designs the fundamental architecture upon which the chips are built. The company will bear the initial development costs of the AI chips, which could reach "hundreds of billions of yen," according to the report. After a mass-production system has been set up, Arm's AI chip business could be "spun off and placed under SoftBank."

Persons: SoftBank, Taiwan's Organizations: SoftBank, Nikkei, Qualcomm, Nvidia, Nasdaq Locations: Krakow, Poland, Nikkei Asia

☆ Looks like Masayoshi Son's plan to go all in on AI is starting to pay off for SoftBank
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Japanese billionaire's conglomerate posted a $1.5 billion profit for its latest quarter. The gains come off the back of its big bet on chip firm ARM, which is targeting AI opportunities. Arm Holdings CEO Rene Haas is seeking to capitalize on the AI boom. But as the appetite for ARM's AI activities show, SoftBank has room to grow in the face of the latest boom. If he's able to find the right bets, AI could pay off handsomely in the long term.

Persons: Masayoshi, —, It's, SoftBank, Rene Haas, Michael M, Yoshimitsu Goto, Son, WeWork, AI's Organizations: ARM, Service, Son, Nasdaq, Apple, Arm, Funds, Nvidia Locations: Tokyo, Cambridge, London, Alibaba

☆ SoftBank Vision Fund posts first annual gain in 3 years, up $4.6 billion
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

SoftBank's Vision Fund, the brainchild of the company's founder Masayoshi Son, has faced a number of headwinds including a slump in technology stocks as a result of rising interest rates, a tough China market and geopolitics. SoftBank posted a 7.24 billion Japanese yen ($4.6 billion) gain on its Vision Fund in the fiscal year ended March, the first time the flagship tech investment arm has been in the black since 2021. SoftBank's flagship tech investment arm, the Vision Fund, had a tough time in the fiscal year that ended in March 2023, posting a record loss of around $32 billion amid a slump in tech stock prices and the souring of some of the business' bets in China. However, in the June quarter of last year, the Vision Fund posted its first investment gain in five consecutive quarters, signalling early stages of a recovery. SoftBank's Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto said in the previous quarter that SoftBank had shifted from an "Alibaba to AI-centric portfolio."

Persons: Masayoshi Son, SoftBank, Masayoshi, Yoshimitsu Goto, Goto Organizations: Vision, Vision Fund Locations: China, Alibaba

☆ SoftBank seen returning to loss in fourth quarter despite strength in tech stocks
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Japanese technology investor SoftBank Group is expected to slip back into the red when it reports earnings on Monday despite technology stocks including Arm Holdings its core asset, performing well over the quarter. Analysts and investors are also eagerly awaiting clues about new growth investments as SoftBank has ample liquidity and can monetize its huge holding in Arm. The initial public offering (IPO) market remained subdued, leaving analysts uncertain of the monetization prospects for SoftBank's portfolio of unlisted tech startups. But while the Arm stake may make possible an investment on this scale, its dominance within SoftBank's portfolio poses a risk should market sentiment turn, hitting SoftBank's value and fundraising capacity. Morningstar analyst Javier Correonero estimates a fair value for Arm of $57 per share, compared to its recent trading range around $100 per share.

Persons: SoftBank, Arm's, DiDi, Shogo Tono, Javier Correonero Organizations: SoftBank, Arm Holdings, Grab Holdings, LSEG, Nomura Securities, Nvidia, Morningstar Locations: Britain, Coupang

☆ SoftBank will reportedly invest nearly $1 billion in AI push, tapping Nvidia's chips
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Dylan Butts | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Signage at a SoftBank Corp. store in the Ginza district of Tokyo, Japan, on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023. Japanese tech conglomerate SoftBank is looking to develop a "world-class" Japanese-language-specific generative artificial intelligence model, and plans to invest $960 million in the next two years to bolster its computing facilities, according to a Nikkei report. Training of large language models (LLM), such as OpenAI's Chat GPT, requires advanced graphics processing units, which SoftBank plans to purchase from U.S. chip giant Nvidia , the Nikkei reported Monday, citing anonymous sources. The investment of 150 billion yen ($960 million) will be spent in 2024 and 2025 and adds to 20 billion yen that SoftBank spent on computing infrastructure last year, the report said. According to another report from Nikkei Asia, Japan lacks private companies with the high-performance supercomputers that are needed to build LLM, despite increased interest in the tech.

Persons: SoftBank Organizations: SoftBank Corp, Nikkei, Nvidia Locations: Ginza, Tokyo, Japan, U.S, Nikkei Asia

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