In a major strategic shift that has rippled through global technology markets, the Japanese investment conglomerate SoftBank Group has offloaded its entire multi-billion dollar stake in Nvidia. The move, disclosed in the firm’s latest earnings report, is part of a deliberate pivot to concentrate financial firepower on its substantial commitments to OpenAI.
The sale, executed in October, netted approximately $5.8 billion. Concurrently, SoftBank reported a quarterly net profit that more than doubled, largely propelled by increased valuations of its OpenAI holdings. To further bolster its investment war chest, the group also divested part of its position in telecommunications provider T-Mobile.
The company’s Chief Financial Officer, Yoshimitsu Goto, framed the decision as a necessary reallocation of capital. He indicated that with planned investments in OpenAI exceeding $30 billion, liquidating existing assets was essential to fund these new ambitions. Goto emphasized that the timing of the Nvidia sale was not a commentary on the chipmaker’s prospects but rather a routine portfolio adjustment.
The announcement immediately impacted trading floors. Nvidia’s stock price fell sharply in early New York trading, dragging down other semiconductor and technology shares and contributing to a broader decline in the tech-heavy Nasdaq index. The reaction underscored market sensitivity to moves by major investors in the hyper-charged artificial intelligence sector.
Analysts interpreted the transaction as a significant signal. “When a savvy investor like SoftBank takes profits on a star performer like Nvidia, the market naturally looks for a narrative,” commented one investment director. He suggested the move could be seen as “prudent capital recycling,” cashing in on Nvidia’s meteoric rise to back what SoftBank may view as the next frontier of AI value creation.
Nvidia, whose processors are foundational to modern AI infrastructure, recently achieved a historic $5 trillion market valuation—a milestone that has also fueled debates about potential overvaluation in the sector. SoftBank’s decision to exit its position adds a new dimension to that conversation, highlighting a strategic bet that the future profits from AI may lie as much in the software and models as in the hardware that powers them.
The transaction marks a notable evolution in SoftBank’s investment thesis, pivoting from a key enabler of the AI revolution to placing a massive, concentrated bet on one of its most prominent and ambitious creators.