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SoftBank sells entire Nvidia stake for $5.8 billion, accelerates bets on AI
SoftBank was an early backer of Nvidia, having amassed a stake worth nearly $4 billion in 2017, before fully exiting the investment in January 2019
SoftBank Group Chairman & CEO Masayoshi Son (L) and Jensen Huang, Founder, President and CEO of NVIDIA (R)
Japanese investment conglomerate SoftBank has reportedly exited its entire stake in US semiconductor major Nvidia for $5.83 billion, according to CNBC. The firm said it sold 32.1 million Nvidia shares in October.
SoftBank was an early backer of Nvidia, having amassed a stake worth nearly $4 billion in 2017, before fully exiting the investment in January 2019, reported CNBC.com.
The recent stake sale comes at a time when the firm is doubling down on artificial intelligence investments. SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has been aggressively building a portfolio of critical AI companies, driven by his belief that the technology will define “humanity’s future.”
SoftBank has invested in OpenAI and Oracle, and recently acquired ABB’s robotics arm for $5.4 billion. Its shares have more than doubled to 2.5 trillion yen ($16.6 billion) in Q2 2025, largely boosted by its exposure to OpenAI.
In March, the firm led a funding round of up to $40 billion for OpenAI at a valuation of $300 billion.
OpenAI, which launched ChatGPT in late 2022, triggered the global generative AI boom and now serves over 250 million weekly active users. The company’s valuation has surged from $14 billion in 2021 to $157 billion.
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