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Masayoshi Son Declares Bold Vision: “All In” on OpenAI

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has publicly declared that the Japanese conglomerate is going "all in" on OpenAI, committing up to 4.8 trillion Japanese yen ($33.2 billion) in total planned investments. Speaking at SoftBank’s annual shareholders’ meeting, Son said he believes OpenAI will not only go public but could one day become “the most valuable company in the world.”

Despite the fact that OpenAI remains unlisted and unprofitable, Son emphasized that his confidence in the company has only strengthened, stating, “It takes bravery to invest in something transformative — and this is exactly that.”

A Missed Opportunity: How Microsoft Beat SoftBank to the Deal

In a striking admission, Son revealed that before 2019, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had approached him, asking if SoftBank would invest $10 billion into the AI startup. At the time, flush with cash from the successful run of the Vision Fund, Son said he was ready to commit.

“I said yes. I was serious,” Son recalled. “But Sam explored other options and ultimately chose Microsoft.”

That decision resulted in Microsoft securing a landmark partnership as the exclusive cloud provider for OpenAI, a deal that defined the AI race throughout the early 2020s. However, as of 2025, that exclusivity has ended. Recent reports suggest that Microsoft has not approved OpenAI’s restructuring plan to transition into a conventional for-profit company — a point that may have opened the door for SoftBank to expand its influence.

Strategic Partnerships, Shifting Alliances

SoftBank’s growing stake in OpenAI is part of a broader ecosystem strategy. The company is also backing Stargate, a proposed $500 billion AI-centric project, and maintains ownership of Arm, the British chip giant it acquired in 2016. These components are central to Son’s long-term ambition of dominating the future of artificial intelligence.

Son suggested that had OpenAI chosen SoftBank in the early days, its trajectory might have been different. “Yes, Microsoft had the brand, the talent, and the infrastructure. But I had the conviction and the capital,” he said, hinting at what could have been a different global AI landscape.

The Vision: Artificial Superintelligence at Scale

Son is positioning SoftBank as a future leader in artificial superintelligence (ASI) — a form of AI that he envisions as being 10,000 times more intelligent than humans. According to Son, SoftBank’s ultimate mission is to serve as the “platform organizer” of the ASI era within the next decade.

“Our partnership with OpenAI, combined with the capabilities of Arm, is how we will power the future,” he declared.

Earlier this year, SoftBank also acquired Ampere, a U.S.-based chip designer, in a $6.5 billion deal to strengthen its AI hardware portfolio.

$1 Trillion U.S. AI Hub in the Works?

Adding to the company’s sweeping AI ambitions, Bloomberg News reported that Son is evaluating the creation of a $1 trillion industrial complex in the U.S. dedicated to AI development. Sources close to the matter suggest this could be one of the most ambitious AI infrastructure projects ever attempted.

Meanwhile, SoftBank has indicated it could reduce its commitment in OpenAI’s latest funding round from $30 billion to $20 billion if the startup does not restructure into a for-profit entity by December 31. But Son clarified that his long-term belief in OpenAI remains unshaken, regardless of how its internal governance evolves.

Final Thoughts: SoftBank's AI Era

Masayoshi Son is no stranger to taking bold bets, and his deepening involvement with OpenAI marks his most audacious one yet. As the AI arms race accelerates globally, SoftBank’s aggressive capital deployment — from chip acquisitions to trillion-dollar infrastructure proposals — is a clear sign that Son wants the company to be at the epicenter of next-generation intelligence.

Whether OpenAI becomes the world’s most valuable company, as Son predicts, remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: SoftBank has no intention of sitting on the sidelines.