SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son Says He’s Focusing on AI Inventions
CEO says he wants to invest more aggressively as tech stocks revive
TOKYO—SoftBank 9984 3.68%increase; green up pointing triangle Group Chief Executive Masayoshi Son said Wednesday he was devoting himself to artificial intelligence and new inventions after what he described as a tear-filled rethinking of his life’s mission.
“The time is approaching for us to go on the counteroffensive,” Son said at the Japanese technology-investment company’s annual shareholder meeting. “I want SoftBank to lead the AI revolution.”
The company had been cautious about new investments owing to the global tech selloff and investment losses.
SoftBank in May reported a net loss of ¥970 billion, equivalent to $6.9 billion, for the fiscal year ended March owing to losses from its technology funds.
It marked the company’s second consecutive year in the red, but the losses were smaller than the previous year after SoftBank cashed out almost its entire stake in Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group.
After Son announced the shift in his investment stance, SoftBank shares were up nearly 3% in afternoon trading in Tokyo on Wednesday, and they touched the highest intraday level since November.
After a sharp fall in 2021, SoftBank Group’s share price has recovered recently in line with the overall Tokyo stock market and a rise in global technology shares.
Son has made fewer public appearances recently after halting his practice of speaking each time the company released quarterly earnings. He said lieutenants would handle the quarterly meetings because he wanted to focus on Arm, a U.K. chip-design company owned by SoftBank.
On Wednesday, he said he has also been focusing on making his own inventions in artificial intelligence. He said this followed soul-searching late last year in which he concluded that he wanted to chase his old dream of being a technology “architect” who uses the creative side of his brain.
“There were times when I felt a real emptiness,” Son said. “I had a big cry. The tears didn’t stop for days.”
He said he used ChatGPT, the artificial-intelligence chatbot, every day for brainstorming and has come up with more than 600 ideas so far. A shareholder asked about Terminator-like scenarios where AI threatens humans, and Son said he was developing technology that would give AI programs a kind of self-control so they work together with humanity.
The 65-year-old Son said he was inspired by his late friend Steve Jobs, the Apple co-founder, who worked on creative tasks such as designing iPhones in his final years.
“I am so excited and enjoying it so much that I am not ready to retire just yet,” he said.