SoftBank Sells Nvidia Stake for $5.8B to Fund AI

Japanese technology conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp. announced on Tuesday that it sold its entire stake in Nvidia Corp. for $5.8 billion in October, redirecting the proceeds to bolster its investments in artificial intelligence ventures, particularly a $30 billion commitment to OpenAI. The Tokyo-based company disclosed the transaction during its fiscal second-quarter earnings presentation, highlighting a strategic pivot amid surging demand for AI infrastructure.

The sale involved 32.1 million Nvidia shares and marked SoftBank's second full exit from the Silicon Valley chipmaker, following a similar divestment in 2019. SoftBank's chief financial officer, Yoshimitsu Goto, explained the move during an earnings call, stating, "This year our investment in OpenAI is large, more than 30 billion needs to be made. For that, we do need to divest our existing assets." He emphasized that the decision was unrelated to Nvidia's performance, describing it instead as part of SoftBank's routine capital reallocation to support high-priority opportunities.

SoftBank's financial results underscored the benefits of its AI focus. Net profit for the April-September period nearly tripled to 2.5...