Masayoshi Son, chairman and chief executive officer of SoftBank Group Corp.
Kiyoshi Ota | Bloomberg | Getty Images
SoftBank Group chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son announced plans on Wednesday to transition the Japanese investment firm from “defense mode” to “offense mode” in order to seize opportunities in the AI revolution.
Son expressed during the annual general meeting with shareholders, “Now, the time has come to shift to offense mode.”
He continued, “In the past few years, our focus has been on ‘defense.’ But because of this, we have been able to build our cash reserves to five trillion yen ($35.3 billion). We are now ready to shift to offense mode, and I am excited about that,” Son added.
The tech conglomerate, known for its venture capital investments through its Vision Fund, faced challenges as it entered a “defense mode,” temporarily halting new investments and reducing its stake in Alibaba. In May, the Vision Fund reported a record $32 billion loss.
Son emphasized his interest in the AI revolution, stating, “What I am interested in most, what I am working on most, is the AI revolution. I believe that computer or AI will eventually surpass mankind. We aim to be at the forefront of the AI revolution,” Son affirmed.
Shares of SoftBank increased by 2.63% in Wednesday morning trade.
The Vision Fund has invested in various Chinese tech firms, making it vulnerable to the decline in share prices caused by Beijing’s crackdown on the country’s tech sector. SoftBank’s portfolio includes companies like ByteDance, DiDi Grocery, Coupang, and more.
SoftBank is preparing for the initial public offering (IPO) of Arm, a chip design firm based in the U.K., which it acquired in 2016. Arm has filed for the listing in the U.S., and SoftBank’s CFO Yoshimitsu Goto stated that the IPO process is progressing smoothly.
Recent months have shown explosive growth in the field of artificial intelligence, with the viral success of chatbot ChatGPT. Researchers and the public have been amazed by ChatGPT’s ability to generate humanlike responses to user prompts.
Son mentioned that he is a “heavy user of ChatGPT” and expressed his admiration, stating that ChatGPT is “amazing.”
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