Billionaire Masayoshi Son’s megasize bet on OpenAI is powering profit at SoftBank Group.
The Tokyo-based global tech investor recorded a gain of $25 billion on its stake in the ChatGPT maker in the first three months of the year, SoftBank said in its earnings report Wednesday
Most Read from The Wall Street Journal It was such a large gain that it more than papered over losses in other parts of SoftBank’s portfolio, with the company posting an overall profit of $11.6 billion for the quarter, more than triple its profit in the first quarter of 2025. Over the course of the prior 12 months, SoftBank’s stake in OpenAI increased in value by $44 billion, as the Sam Altman-led AI company raised money several times from SoftBank and others at increasing valuations, hitting $852 billion in March. The gains on OpenAI have been wind in the sails for Son, SoftBank’s CEO, helping power the company’s shares up 216% in the past year.
In all, SoftBank has committed to invest over $64 billion into the ChatGPT maker, more than any other investor, tying much of SoftBank’s fate to the artificial-intelligence company’s future. The gains on OpenAI are for now only on paper. The San Francisco company plans an initial public offering as soon as this year.