Masayoshi Son, CEO of SoftBank, and Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, attend an event to introduce AI to businesses in Tokyo, Japan, February 3, 2025.
Kim Kyung-Hoon | Reuters
SoftBank recorded an annual gain of $46 billion on its Vision Fund, mainly due to the huge increase in the value of its investment in OpenAI.
The Japanese giant has invested more than $30 billion in OpenAI, with investment gains in the company totaling $45 billion for the year ended in March.
In the three months ending at the end of March, the Vision Fund saw a gain of around $20 billion, almost entirely due to OpenAI, as SoftBank suffered losses on other investments such as CoupangDiDi Global and Klarna.
SoftBank seeks to position itself at the center of the artificial intelligence boom with investments in various areas of AI and chip companiesand Sam Altman’s OpenAI forming the centerpiece.
SoftBank has committed to investing more than $60 billion in OpenAI, which would give it about a 13% stake in the company, the company announced in February. More than $30 billion has already been invested.
In March, OpenAI closed a funding round co-led by SoftBank and which enjoyed the AI lab at $852 billion.
While OpenAI’s growing valuation has helped SoftBank’s Vision Fund, OpenAI’s concentration in SoftBank’s portfolio has raised concerns about its debt levels. In March, S&P Global Ratings revised its outlook for SoftBank from “stable” to “negative.”
The rating agency said SoftBank’s “asset liquidity and portfolio quality, as well as its financial strength, are likely to deteriorate due to its huge additional investment in OpenAI.”
SoftBank could “limit negative financial impacts” by selling certain assets, the rating agency said. Indeed, SoftBank was sell stakes at companies like T-Mobile and Nvidia to finance its OpenAI bet.
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