SoftBank Group has sold all of its Nvidia shares, ending its position in the AI chipmaker that led the sector’s major rally. The Japanese conglomerate is now redirecting funds toward OpenAI, even as the ChatGPT developer faces financial losses and questions about its leadership.

According to SoftBank’s financial filing on Tuesday, the company and its asset management unit “sold all of Nvidia Corporation shares that they had owned, for $5.83 billion.” The sale took place in October and was part of a larger plan to free up funds for other investments.

This move came alongside a $9.17 billion partial sale of its T-Mobile stake, described as “asset monetization” to support a $40 billion investment in OpenAI by the end of 2025.

Vision Fund Reports Strong Gains from OpenAI Holdings

SoftBank’s Vision Fund posted an investment gain of $23.4 billion (¥3.54 trillion) for the quarter, including $14.3 billion (¥2.16 trillion) from marking up its OpenAI holdings to a pre-money valuation of $260 billion.

These gains more than doubled SoftBank’s net income to $19.3 billion (¥2.924 trillion), up 190.9% compared with the previous year.

The Nvidia sale was SoftBank’s second exit from the chipmaker. The group first purchased a $4 billion stake in 2017, sold it in early 2019, later re-entered, and then sold again in October.

Funding OpenAI and Robotics Projects

To help finance the OpenAI investment, SoftBank raised funds through several channels. The company issued $4.1 billion (¥620 billion) in yen bonds, $4.2 billion in foreign debt, and arranged bridge loans of $8.5 billion for OpenAI and $6.5 billion for ABB Robotics.

“As SoftBank’s investment in OpenAI was very large, the company had to use its existing assets to finance new investments,” Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto said at a press briefing, according to a CNBC report.

SoftBank’s filings state that the company agreed on March 31 to invest up to $40 billion in OpenAI, with $30 billion coming from its own capital. Of this, $10 billion was funded in April, and $22.5 billion is set for December.

The robotics acquisition supports SoftBank’s mission to “realize artificial super intelligence (ASI) for the advancement of humanity,” focusing on AI chips, robots, data centers, and energy, and investing in leading generative AI companies.

Analyst Reaction and Market Trends

SoftBank’s sale of its Nvidia stake is viewed as a major move toward AI development. “SoftBank’s sale of its Nvidia stake is a strong, but hugely unexpected, move away from hardware and toward AI projects and the data that fuels them,” said Jiahao Sun, CEO of decentralized AI platform FLock.io, in a statement to Decrypt.

The sale came amid questions about AI spending and as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman faced criticism after publicly denying he sought federal loan guarantees just days after his company had requested them in a letter to the White House.

Market Conditions Reflect Shifting AI Landscape

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Nvidia’s main supplier, reported 16.9% revenue growth for October, its slowest rate since February 2024.

Short-seller Michael Burry’s Scion Asset Management recently disclosed bearish bets on Nvidia. Meanwhile, major tech companies, including Meta, Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft, plan to spend over $400 billion on AI infrastructure in 2025.

Nvidia (NVDA) shares fell 1.46% in pre-market trading after closing at $199.05. SoftBank Group (SFTBY) ended the prior session up 2.74% at $72.40 and was little changed before market open, according to Yahoo Finance data.

PHOTO: NIKKEI ASIA/YUTAKA MIYAGUCHI

This article was created with AI assistance.