SoftBank sells entire $5.8 billion Nvidia stake to fund AI expansion

SoftBank Group has sold its entire stake in Nvidia Corp., raising $5.83 billion to bankroll its ambitious artificial intelligence projects, as investors increasingly question the massive sums flowing into the still-uncertain AI sector.

The sale provides SoftBank with much-needed liquidity to finance new ventures, including Stargate data centers and AI manufacturing hubs in the United States. Executives said the move was not a reflection on Nvidia itself but a strategic step to free up capital for future investments.

Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto said the Nvidia divestment was purely a financing decision, adding that he “can’t say if we’re in an AI bubble or not.” SoftBank had previously sold its Nvidia stake in 2019, years before ChatGPT’s debut sparked an unprecedented rally in the chipmaker’s value.

SoftBank’s bets on AI leaders such as OpenAI, ByteDance, and Perplexity AI have boosted its financial performance, with the company posting a surprise net income of ¥2.5 trillion ($16.2 billion) in the fiscal second quarter. Its shares have surged 78% over the past three months, their best performance since 2005.

The Japanese conglomerate plans to use the proceeds to fully fund its $22.5 billion commitment to OpenAI through Vision Fund 2 and to complete acquisitions of Ampere Computing and ABB’s robotics unit. SoftBank has also expanded its margin loan backed by Arm Holdings shares and secured bridge loans to support its growing AI investment drive.