SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son says past investments ‘just a warm-up’ for AI bet

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SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son told shareholders on Friday that investments the technology group had made in the past were “just a warm-up” for his grand ambition to create an era of artificial intelligence.

An energised Son told SoftBank shareholders at the group’s annual meeting that his mission was to bring about so-called artificial superintelligence, technology that he says could be significantly smarter than humans.

“This is what I was born to do, to realise ASI,” said Son, without providing more details of his plan. He outlined opportunities in AI robotics, data centres and autonomous driving, while explaining that SoftBank would need partners to support his vision.

Son told shareholders earlier on Thursday that the group needed “to look for our next big bet, without fear of whether it’ll be a hit or miss”.

After a self-declared period in “defence mode”, following a string of painful losses at its tech-heavy Vision Funds, SoftBank now has a strong balance sheet and billions of dollars in its war chest.

In May, chief financial officer Yoshimitsu Goto described the group’s loan-to-value level as “maybe too low to be honest, too safe”.

Son wants to pursue AI deals that can keep the group relevant in what he considers to be the next stage of humanity and support the company’s crown jewel, UK-based chip designer Arm.

SoftBank this month led an investment of more than $1bn in UK self-driving car start-up Wayve, marking Europe’s largest AI deal to date.

But while Son seeks to deploy capital in search of deals, others are trying to push the group to return it to shareholders.

The Financial Times reported this month that Elliott Management had rebuilt a substantial stake in SoftBank and was pushing for Son to launch a $15bn share buyback.

Son on Friday downplayed the question of buybacks, saying his AI vision was the priority. He also warned that he had not ruled out privatising SoftBank in the future due to the gap between the group’s market capitalisation and the soaring value of its assets, including Arm.

“To be honest, I thought about that before, and I might think about that in the future again. Our stock price is too heavily discounted . . . the so-called Masa Son discount,” he said.

“Nobody knows what will happen, no promises at all,” he added. “Share buyback or not, privatisation or not . . . realising ASI is my only focus.”

SoftBank’s shares fell more than 3 per cent in Tokyo on Friday.