Susana Schwartz
Will SoftBank's US AI focus continue in 2026?
The SoftBank acquisition of data center firm DigitalBridge was big news, and it came on the heels of completing its $41 billion commitment to OpenAI. These two substantial deals are just part of CEO Masayoshi Son’s pursuit of AI Superintelligence, which he believes will be “the biggest revolution in the history of humankind” and a key way to maximize SoftBank’s net asset value.
Son talked big in his meetings with President Trump at the end of 2024, and then walked the walk throughout 2025, selling his stake in Nvidia and borrowing heavily from major banks to invest billions in Arm, OpenAI, Stargate, Intel, ABB Robotics, and now DigitalBridge. They’re worth a review as they spanned chips, software, data centers, robotics, and applications:
– January 2025, SoftBank deployed $40 billion for the Stargate Project, an initiative promising $500 billion over the next four years for new AI infrastructure;
– February, SoftBank agreed to spend $3 billion USD annually to deploy OpenAI’s solutions to develop and market advanced Enterprise AI, “Cristal intelligence,” in addition to committing to ChatGPT and other OpenAI tools;
– March, the company acquired silicon design company Ampere® Computing in an all-cash transaction valued at $6.5 billion;
– May, SoftBank partnered with Arm to contribute $15.5 million to advance AI through Carnegie Mellon University’s Partnership with Keio University;
– August, SoftBank made a $2 billion investment in Intel common stock to deepen its commitment in advanced technology and semiconductor innovation;
– September, SoftBank joined OpenAI and Oracle to expand Stargate with five new AI data center sites;
– October, SoftBank acquired ABB Ltd.’s robotics business for $5.375 billion, reportedly planning to invest $1 trillion to build AI-equipped factories in the U.S.
Also worth mentioning is SoftBank’s roughly 90% stake in Arm, which gives it a major presence in AI applications (since most mobile devices operate on Arm-based processors).
In 2026, who knows what Son will do. Will he take a break to catch up with all of these financial commitments, or will he invest further toward his long-term vision for “Artificial Super Intelligence” (ASI), which he believes will be “10,000 times more intelligent than humans and realized in about ten years.”
The vision for ASI is what Son believes will ultimately maximize SoftBank’s net asset value, which represents shareholder value, calculated as the equity value of holdings minus net interest-bearing debt. It’s what drives his investments not only in the U.S., but in in Asia (India, Southeast Asia, China), Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe.
Susana Schwartz
Technology Editor
RCRTech
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