SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son said on Friday the group aims to become the world’s top platform provider for artificial super intelligence within the next decade, signaling a bold new direction for the Japanese tech giant.
Speaking at SoftBank’s annual shareholder meeting, Son described his vision of positioning SoftBank at the centre of the artificial super intelligence (ASI) industry - an era he believes will be dominated by platforms far more powerful than current AI models.
“I want SoftBank to become the organiser of the industry in the ASI era,” Son said, comparing his ambition to the platform dominance of Microsoft, Amazon, and Google.
Son defines ASI as Artificial Intelligence that surpasses human intelligence by a factor of 10,000, and he has resumed aggressive investments to make SoftBank a key player in the space. These moves include the $6.5 billion acquisition of U.S. chip designer Ampere and up to $40 billion in underwritten investment for OpenAI, where SoftBank has already committed $32 billion since autumn 2024.
“I’m all in on OpenAI,” Son said, expressing regret over not investing earlier and suggesting he expects OpenAI to eventually go public.
SoftBank’s renewed risk appetite comes after years of retrenchment following major losses in tech startups through its Vision Fund. The tide turned with the successful 2023 IPO of Arm, boosting SoftBank’s balance sheet and enabling further strategic investments.
Earlier this month, the group also raised $4.8 billion through a partial sale of its stake in T-Mobile, further strengthening its financial position.
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The ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon will be lengthened by three weeks, U.S. President Donald Trump said in a post on social media website Truth Social early on Friday (24 April), while stating in a separate earlier post that he was in no rush to make a deal with Iran.
Armenia’s Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan says progress in talks with Azerbaijan is helping the country manage economic and security pressures as regional conflicts and alliances shift.
Russian emergency services have contained a major fire at the Tuapse oil refinery on the Black Sea coast, local officials said on Thursday, ending a four-day effort after a Ukrainian drone strike.
Meta Platforms will cut about 10% of its global workforce from 20 May, marking the start of a wider restructuring as the company increases spending on artificial intelligence (AI) and plans further layoffs later this year, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The U.S. military has intercepted at least three Iranian-flagged tankers in Asian waters and is redirecting them away from their positions near India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, shipping and security sources said on Wednesday, exclusively to Reuters.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards targeted three vessels, seizing two of them for alleged maritime violations and transferring them to Iranian shores, as U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington is extending its ceasefire with Iran until Tehran submits a proposal.
Two local trains collided head-on north of Copenhagen on Thursday (23 April), injuring 17 people, five of them critically, according to emergency services.
The U.S. military is redirecting at least three Iranian-flagged tankers after intercepting them in Asian waters near India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, shipping and security sources said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Tehran said U.S. breaches, blockades and threats are undermining “genuine negotiations.”
The European Union is preparing its 20th round of sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine. The measures are close to being approved, after earlier delays linked to energy concerns in Slovakia and Hungary eased following repairs to the Druzhba oil pipeline.
China’s software and information technology services industry is on track to exceed 20 trillion yuan (around $2.9 trillion), underscoring the country’s rapid digital expansion and growing influence in the global technology sector.
Taiwan’s rising prominence in the global artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain has powered a significant stock market rally, driven by soaring demand for advanced chips and servers.
The U.S. aviation regulator has ordered billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s space company Blue Origin to ground its New Glenn rocket pending an investigation into a malfunction that prevented the proper deployment of a communications satellite during a launch from Florida on Sunday (19 April).
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Blue Origin, the U.S. space company of billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, successfully reused and recovered a booster for its New Glenn rocket launched from Florida on Sunday (19 April), in the latest chapter of its intensifying rivalry with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
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