SoftBank2026-09-06 04:38:44Masayoshi Son says firms should track Return on AI as they shift to AI-native operationsSoftBank founder Masayoshi Son used his keynote at SoftBank World 2026 to argue that companies should stop relying on traditional asset-based measures alone and begin using Return on AI, or ROA, as a core management metric. He said businesses need a structured transition toward becoming AI-native enterprises as industries move toward broad AI adoption. In Son’s presentation, Artificial Superintelligence, or ASI, could account for 20% of global GDP by 2040, with annual output reaching 7,000 trillion yen. He also projected a labor transition toward 100 trillion AI agents and 1 billion humanoid robots, describing them as systems capable of autonomous operation, communication, and continuous learning. Son added that supporting this shift would require global AI data center capacity to reach 3 terawatts, with average annual investment of about $5 trillion to push compute to the quetta level, or 10^30. He also said AI can identify thousands of potential vulnerabilities inside systems, which means both individuals and companies need to integrate AI more deeply into daily use and operational design. For companies aiming to become AI-native, Son outlined four steps: maintain a firm AI-led vision, use existing data and industry expertise, automate business tasks with AI agents, and monitor ROA over a three-year period to judge whether spending on AI agents, humanoid robots, infrastructure, and software-hardware systems is producing real productivity and revenue gains.610
SoftBank2026-08-06 08:23:06SoftBank quarterly profit fell 18%, with Intel gains lifting resultsSoftBank Group reported quarterly net profit of 347.3 billion yen for the period ended June, down 18% from a year earlier but well ahead of the market consensus of 166 billion yen. The gap was largely explained by a sizable unrealized gain on Intel shares, which SoftBank bought last year at $23 apiece. Intel rose 216% during the quarter, producing roughly 1.3 trillion yen, or about $8.5 billion, in unrealized investment gains. Those gains helped offset losses in parts of the Vision Fund portfolio and softer growth in profits tied to SoftBank’s OpenAI investment. At the same time, investor attention has turned to the group’s balance sheet as Masayoshi Son steps up spending on generative AI. SoftBank is expected to complete about $65 billion in cumulative investment in OpenAI by October. To fund that push, the company signed a one-year $40 billion bridge loan and arranged a $20 billion margin loan backed by its Arm stake. The report also highlighted broader concerns around the AI sector, including rising competition, uncertainty over business models after heavy infrastructure spending, and the impact of any delay to OpenAI’s IPO timeline on SoftBank’s valuation.1830
SoftBank2026-07-24 04:00:16SoftBank Pledges OpenAI Shares for $10B Loan; Son's AI Gamble IntensifiesSoftBank is seeking a $10 billion margin loan backed by its OpenAI stake, with a preliminary interest rate around 7.88%. It follows $20 billion in loans secured by Arm shares. S&P has downgraded SoftBank's outlook to negative, but Masayoshi Son keeps leveraging for AI.210
