The company, led by Masayoshi Son, is strengthening its focus on artificial intelligence as competition increases among global tech firms.

This is SoftBank’s largest borrowing in US dollars. The loan is unsecured and will mature in March 2027. It was arranged by major lenders including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Mizuho Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and MUFG Bank.

SoftBank said the funds will partly support its existing commitment to OpenAI. The group had earlier agreed to invest $30 billion in the company through its Vision Fund 2. Some of the loan will also go towards general operations, with plans to repay part of it through asset sales.

After years of mixed results from large bets on companies like Uber and WeWork, Son is now focusing heavily on AI.

OpenAI, backed by Microsoft, has become one of the most influential players in the sector following the rapid adoption of ChatGPT. That surge has drawn fresh capital into the industry and raised the stakes for investors.

SoftBank is also working with OpenAI on the Stargate Project, an initiative announced in 2025 to invest up to $500 billion over four years in AI infrastructure in the United States.

Earlier, in December 2024, Son and then President-elect Donald Trump said SoftBank would invest $100 billion in AI and related infrastructure in the US over the same period.

The scale of this new loan shows how far SoftBank is willing to go. Even with a heavy debt load, the group is placing itself at the centre of the global AI growth, where companies such as Microsoft, Google and Amazon are all expanding their chances.

This was driven by the high valuations in OpenAI and other Vision Fund assets.

The figure, far above analysts’ estimates of ¥207 billion, is a turnaround for the Japanese conglomerate and its most profitable quarter to date. 

The result reveals how Masayoshi Son’s focus on artificial intelligence is bolstering SoftBank’s growth and enhancing exposure to a sector many investors now fear may be entering a bubble.

The company’s Vision Fund unit reported a record investment gain of ¥3.5 trillion for the quarter, with OpenAI alone contributing ¥2.16 trillion. 

The rally in global technology stocks and a surge in AI-related valuations drove this growth, sending SoftBank’s shares to new highs. It was the Vision Fund’s third consecutive profitable quarter, a recovery from the losses that once characterised its track record.

SoftBank’s assertive push into AI reiterates Son’s conviction that artificial intelligence represents the next economic revolution. 

In March, the group led a $40 billion funding round that valued OpenAI at $300 billion. By October, it joined a consortium of investors acquiring $6.6 billion worth of OpenAI employee shares, at an even higher $500 billion valuation.

These initiatives are being financed through an intricate mix of asset sales, bonds, and loans. The company offloaded 32.1 million Nvidia shares in October, raising $5.83 billion, while also issuing bonds in yen, dollars, and euros worth more than ¥620 billion, $2.2 billion, and €1.7 billion respectively since April. 

It further secured an $8.5 billion bridge loan to fund its OpenAI investment and a $6.5 billion facility for its planned acquisition of semiconductor firm Ampere.

Son described this phase as the company’s “most ambitious investment period” since launching its Vision Fund vehicles in 2017 and 2019. He has long been known for his courageous, leveraged investments in transformative technologies. His early stake in Alibaba proved legendary, yet not all ventures, including WeWork, ended well.

However, even with the SoftBank historic profit, analysts warn of a potential “AI bubble,” as sky-high valuations risk overtaking real-world profitability.

The Japanese tech conglomerate posted a ¥421.8 billion ($2.87 billion) net profit for Q1 2025, marking its second consecutive profitable quarter and a complete turnaround from the ¥174 billion loss in the same period last year. 

This resurgence, led by a $4.8 billion rise in Vision Fund asset value, comes as SoftBank steps up its investment in AI with massive bets across sectors and continents.

Much of this is pinned to SoftBank’s portfolio moves, currently leading a $40 billion investment round for OpenAI, with ¥22.5 billion of that coming from its own balance sheet. 

It’s also behind the $500 billion Stargate infrastructure initiative in the United States, an AI-focused data centre project involving Oracle, OpenAI, and Abu Dhabi’s MGX.

But while the vision is commendable, execution is proving to be more complicated.

The Stargate project, despite its headline-grabbing scale, has yet to break ground. CFO Yoshimitsu Goto conceded that the initiative is “bogging down” due to friction among partners and unresolved site selection issues. 

Discussions are now underway to scale down the scope, with a more modest data centre in Ohio being considered for launch before the year ends.

In the meantime, SoftBank has strengthened its positioning in AI hardware. The firm has recently upped its stake in Nvidia to over $3 billion, benefitting from the chipmaker’s 46% rally in Q2. 

The increased exposure to high-performing public tech firms such as Coupang, Grab, Symbotic, and Swiggy has also helped lift the valuation of Vision Fund assets.

SoftBank’s share price ended Friday at 13,865 yen, up 10.39% after hitting a peak of ¥14,205 in early trading. That rise made it the single largest contributor to gains on Japan’s Topix index, which crossed the 3,000-point milestone for the first time ever and closed at 3,024.

For investors, this sudden rally has brought rare relief. For over a year, SoftBank stock has traded at a stubborn 50% discount to the value of its underlying assets. Now, its loan-to-value ratio has dropped to 17% from 18% in March, signalling an improvement in financial stability.

Paul Golding, an analyst at Macquarie, remarked, “The results were evidence of SoftBank’s quality diversified portfolio, strong underlying fundamentals, thematic/secular tailwinds for its equity holdings, and the resilience of its balance sheet.”

Seiichi Suzuki, chief equity market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute, said momentum played a role in Friday’s share spike. “Active investors scooped up SoftBank Group shares to beat the Topix’s gain. When the main indexes rise, they need to buy heavyweights that are rising. SoftBank’s strong earnings and the Topix’s gains came at the same time.”

Yet even with the positive numbers, questions remain. SoftBank’s recent history of erratic investment outcomes and failed tech bets, most notably WeWork, still looms large. Whether this renewed AI strategy can avoid past pitfalls is something only time and execution will reveal.