SoftBank’s Son plans AI deal spree after Arm IPO

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<span>© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken, February 3, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo</span><br />
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<p>(Reuters) -SoftBank is looking for deals in artificial intelligence (AI), including a potential investment in OpenAI, after the blockbuster listing of its Arm unit, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.</p>
<p>SoftBank (TYO:)’s founder and chief executive, Masayoshi Son, is looking to invest tens of billions of dollars in AI, the newspaper said, citing two people familiar with Son’s thinking.</p>
<p>Son said in June that his tech investing conglomerate planned to shift its stance to “offence mode” amid excitement over advances in AI. </p>
<p>The Japanese tech investment company could also look to strike a broad strategic partnership with ChatGPT maker OpenAI, FT said. </p>
<p>Son has expressed excitement about AI technology, adding he is a “heavy user” of ChatGPT, the AI-powered chatbot from Microsoft-backed startup OpenAI. He has also said that he speaks “almost everyday” to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. </p>
<p>SoftBank is looking at a range of alternatives to OpenAI as well, including a preliminary approach to buy Graphcore, a UK-based AI chipmaker, the report added.</p>
<p>In an emailed response to Reuters, Graphcore denied there was an attempt or offer from SoftBank to buy the company.</p>
<p>SoftBank and OpenAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment. </p>
<p>Chip designer Arm secured a $54.5 billion valuation in its U.S. initial public offering (IPO) on Wednesday, seven years after SoftBank took the company private for $32 billion.</p>
<p>In August, SoftBank posted a surprise loss but said it was dipping its toes back into new investments after its Vision Fund returned to the black for the first time in six quarters. </p>
<p>The investment giant has been in “defence mode” since May 2022 after tech valuations crashed due to sharply higher interest rates and jitters that hit the global banking sector.</p>
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