SoftBank (SFTBY) founder and CEO Masayoshi Son is preparing to hand over the reins of the tech investment giant, but not before setting the stage for its boldest transformation yet. In a recent announcement, Son revealed his vision to position SoftBank as the world’s leading platform for artificial superintelligence (ASI) within the next decade.
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SoftBank Eyes Top Spot in ASI
Speaking at SoftBank’s annual shareholder meeting, Son declared his ambition for the company to become the leader of the ASI era over the next ten years. Notably, ASI refers to a hypothetical form of AI that surpasses human intelligence across multiple fields. Earlier, Son had described ASI as technology capable of surpassing human intelligence by a factor of 10,000, showing the bold scale of his vision as he pushes SoftBank to lead the next big tech shift.
He emphasized that SoftBank’s partnership with OpenAI, along with its ownership of chipmaker Arm (ARM), acquired in 2016, will be central to achieving its ASI ambitions. Meanwhile, Son expressed his strong confidence in OpenAI’s future, revealing that he believes it will eventually go public and could become the most valuable company in the world.
The company has also ramped up its AI investments, most notably with the $6.5 billion acquisition of U.S.-based chip designer Ampere earlier this year, signaling a bold push to build a dominant AI infrastructure stack.
Son Plans Leadership Shift
Alongside his bold AI ambitions, Son said he plans to eventually hand over the reins of SoftBank Group to someone from within the company. He also pointed out that this has been the biggest uncertainty among investors and partners. The 67-year-old added that he has several potential successors in mind but doesn’t plan to reveal his choice until the last minute.
Is SoftBank a Good Stock to Buy?
Following Son’s statement, the company’s Tokyo-listed shares (JP:9984) gained 2.5% in today’s trading session.
According to TipRanks, 9984 stock has a Strong Buy consensus rating based on four Buy and one Hold assigned in the last three months. At ¥10,293.65, SoftBank’s share price target implies a growth rate of over 2% on the current trading level.
