SoftBank Cashes Out $5.8 Billion Nvidia Stake to Double Down on OpenAI Bet
In a move that reveals the high-stakes chess game of artificial intelligence investing, the Japanese technology giant SoftBank has made a stunning decision. It has sold its entire remaining stake in the chipmaker Nvidia, cashing out for a massive $5.83 billion.
The sale, confirmed in SoftBank’s earnings report on Tuesday, signals a dramatic shift in strategy. The company is now channeling its vast resources into what it calls an “all in” bet on the future of AI, with a particular focus on backing industry pioneers like OpenAI, the creator of the revolutionary ChatGPT.
The decision to walk away from Nvidia, whose powerful chips are the very engine of the AI boom, might seem puzzling at first. But for SoftBank, it’s all about funding the next big wave.
A Strategic Retreat, Not a Retreat from AI
SoftBank is no stranger to Nvidia. Its massive Vision Fund was an early supporter, building a $4 billion stake back in 2017. In a curious echo of today’s move, it sold all of its holdings in 2019, only to re-enter later. This history shows that for SoftBank, investing is a fluid and tactical game.
This time, the motivation appears to be a pressing need for capital. Analysts were quick to explain that the sale is less about losing faith in Nvidia and more about fueling a historic spending spree.
“This shouldn’t be interpreted as a cautious or negative outlook on Nvidia,” said Rolf Bulk, an analyst at New Street Research.. He points out that SoftBank needs a staggering amount of cash—over $30.5 billion—just for investments planned in the last three months of the year. A huge portion of that, $22.5 billion, is earmarked for OpenAI alone.
Dan Baker, an analyst at Morningstar, agreed. “[SoftBank] made a point of saying that it wasn’t any view on NVIDIA… At the end of the day, they are using the money to invest in other AI related companies,” he told CNBC.
In the language of high finance, this is called “asset monetization.” It’s the practice of selling valuable holdings you believe in to free up cash for new, potentially even more valuable, opportunities. As SoftBank’s Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto told investors, the goal is to “maintain financial strength” and be “ready for funding in a very safe manner.”
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Funding the Future, One Sale at a Time
The Nvidia sale was just one part of a larger cash-raising effort. SoftBank also disclosed it sold part of its stake in telecom company T-Mobile for an even larger sum: $9.17 billion. Together, these moves provide the company with a war chest exceeding $15 billion to deploy into its ambitious plans.
This aggressive strategy is already paying off. The Vision Fund, SoftBank’s investment arm, posted an enormous gain of $19 billion, helping the parent company more than double its profit last quarter. The fund has been aggressively buying stakes in companies across the entire AI landscape, from chip designers and robotics firms to the large language models that power chatbots.
The centerpiece of this new focus is OpenAI. Mr. Goto highlighted that the initial investment in OpenAI in September of last year was a key turning point. He proudly noted that OpenAI’s latest valuation has reached a landmark $500 billion, making it one of the most valuable companies in the world by this measure.
The irony is that even as SoftBank sells its direct shares, its destiny remains tied to Nvidia’s technology. The company is involved in a colossal $500 billion project, known as “Stargate,” to build data centers in the U.S. These data centers will, of course, be powered by the very same advanced chips that Nvidia designs.
For now, the market took the news in stride. Nvidia’s shares dipped only slightly in premarket trading. The message from SoftBank is clear: they are not betting against the engine of AI. They are simply selling the engine parts to buy the entire blueprint for the future.
Author: Yasir Khan
Date: 11 Nov, 2025
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