SoftBank Sells $5.8B Nvidia Stake to Fund OpenAI Investment

In a move that stunned market observers, SoftBank Group disclosed in its October financial filing that it had sold all 32.1 million shares of Nvidia Corporation it owned, generating $5.83 billion in proceeds. This transaction represents the culmination of SoftBank’s second complete exit from the AI chipmaker, having initially purchased a $4 billion stake in 2017 only to sell it in early 2019 before re-entering the position. The sale was part of a broader ‘asset monetization’ strategy that also included a $9.17 billion partial sale of its T-Mobile stake, collectively funding what CFO Yoshimitsu Goto described as necessary financing for new investments.

The primary beneficiary of this capital reallocation is OpenAI, with SoftBank committing to a staggering $40 billion investment in the AI developer. According to the filing, the investment structure includes $30 billion of SoftBank’s own capital, with $10 billion funded in April and $22.5 billion scheduled to close in December following an October agreement amendment. This massive capital deployment comes despite OpenAI facing mounting losses and increasing scrutiny of CEO Sam Altman’s credibility after he publicly denied seeking federal loan guarantees just days after his company explicitly requested them in a letter to the White House.

SoftBank’s strategic bet on OpenAI is already paying substantial dividends on paper. The Vision Fund posted blowout investment gains of $23.4 billion (¥3.54 trillion) for the quarter, with $14.3 billion (¥2.16 trillion) of that amount coming directly from marking up its OpenAI holdings to a pre-money valuation of $260 billion. These paper gains helped propel SoftBank’s overall financial performance, with net income more than doubling to $19.3 billion (¥2.924 trillion)—a remarkable 190.9% increase from the previous year.

The financing mechanics behind SoftBank’s OpenAI commitment reveal the scale of the undertaking. To support this investment and its acquisition of ABB Robotics, SoftBank arranged $17.3 billion in financing through multiple channels: $4.1 billion (¥620 billion) in yen bonds, $4.2 billion in foreign debt, and bridge loans of $8.5 billion for OpenAI and $6.5 billion for ABB Robotics. As CFO Yoshimitsu Goto explained to reporters, ‘As SoftBank’s investment in OpenAI was very large the company had to use its existing assets to finance new investments.’

SoftBank’s move away from Nvidia represents what Jiahao Sun, CEO of decentralized AI platform FLock.io, characterized as ‘a strong, but hugely unexpected, move away from hardware and toward AI projects and the data that fuels them.’ This strategic realignment aligns with SoftBank’s stated mission to ‘realize artificial super intelligence (ASI) for the advancement of humanity,’ with the company now focusing on AI chips, robots, data centers, and energy while investing in leading generative AI firms.

The timing of SoftBank’s exit from Nvidia coincides with emerging market warning signs for AI infrastructure spending. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSM), Nvidia’s main supplier, posted 16.9% revenue growth for October—its slowest pace since February 2024. Meanwhile, prominent short-seller Michael Burry’s Scion Asset Management disclosed bearish wagers on Nvidia last week, even as tech giants Meta, Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft plan to collectively spend over $400 billion on AI infrastructure in 2025.

Market reaction reflected this uncertainty, with Nvidia (NVDA) shares dipping 1.46% in pre-market trading after closing at $199.05, while SoftBank Group (SFTBY), which ended the prior session at $72.40 up 2.74%, showed little change before market open. As Wall Street questions whether the massive AI infrastructure spending will ultimately pay off, SoftBank’s bold pivot from hardware to software represents one of the most significant bets in the rapidly evolving AI investment landscape.