SoftBank CEO says he’s ‘all in’ on OpenAI, reveals he’s long wanted Microsoft’s spot as main backer

SoftBank is “all in” on OpenAI, CEO Masayoshi Son said on Friday, as the Japanese tech giant looks to realize its vision of “artificial superintelligence.”

This year, the Japanese multinational conglomerate has been increasing its investments in OpenAI and participating in joint ventures such as the $500 billion Stargate project. 

According to Son, SoftBank is now “all in” on the artificial intelligence company, with total planned investments in the company reaching about 4.8 trillion Japanese yen ($33.2 billion), despite it being unlisted and unprofitable.

“I think that OpenAI will be listed eventually and, in my belief, will become the most valuable company in the world,” Son said. He added, however, that it “takes bravery to invest” in such a company. 

As it turns out, Son has long held that conviction. During the shareholders’ meeting, he revealed that before 2019, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had asked him if SoftBank would invest $10 billion into the company.

“I said, yes, I would … I was serious because I had financial resources thanks to Vision Fund’s performance. But obviously, Sam talked to other potential investors, and eventually, they picked Microsoft,” he said.  

Microsoft ultimately inked the deal, which made it the exclusive provider of computing power for OpenAI’s research, products, and programming interfaces for developers. However, Microsoft lost its status as OpenAI’s exclusive cloud provider at the start of this year.

And that relationship now appears to be on rocky footing. According to recent reports, Microsoft hasn’t approved an OpenAI restructuring plan that would turn it into a more conventional for-profit company.

Touching upon the reports, Son suggested that Altman should have chosen SoftBank, not Microsoft, as its initial partner, though he noted that SoftBank was smaller at the time and that Microsoft had its global supply chains, technical talents and brand value to offer. 

SoftBank has previously stated that it could reduce its portion of its $30 billion investment in OpenAI’s latest funding round in March to $20 billion if it doesn’t restructure into a for-profit entity by Dec. 31.

However, on Friday, Son said that his conviction on OpenAI has only grown stronger and that SoftBank will continue to deepen its relationship with the company, regardless of what happens with Microsoft. 

Part of Son’s belief in OpenAI stems from his desire for SoftBank to be at the center of “artificial superintelligence,” which he has described as AI that is 10,000 times smarter than humans. 

Son said on Friday that he wants SoftBank to become the biggest platform provider for this ASI within the next decade, serving as the “organizer of the industry in the artificial superintelligence era.” 

He added that SoftBank’s partnership with OpenAI, along with British semiconductor company Arm, which SoftBank acquired in 2016, would be essential to those plans.

SoftBank has been increasingly aggressive in its AI-related investments, which included an acquisition of U.S.-based chips designer Ampere for $6.5 billion earlier this year.

Bloomberg News reported last week, citing people familiar with the matter, that Son is also considering establishing a $1 trillion industrial complex in the U.S. that will develop AI.