SoftBank's Masayoshi Son made a rare admission of vulnerability Monday, saying he "was crying" to sell the firm's entire $5.8 billion Nvidia stake in November. The emotional confession reveals the painful trade-offs even tech's biggest risk-takers face as AI investment fever reaches new heights, forcing Son to liquidate his chip goldmine to fund bigger bets on OpenAI and data centers.
SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son doesn't usually show weakness, but even the legendary risk-taker has his breaking point. Speaking at a Tokyo forum Monday, Son revealed the emotional toll of liquidating his firm's entire Nvidia position, worth $5.83 billion, to bankroll his next AI gamble.
"I don't want to sell a single share. I just had more need for money to invest in OpenAI and other projects," Son told the FII Priority Asia forum. "I was crying to sell Nvidia shares."
The confession offers rare insight into the calculations forcing even deep-pocketed investors to make painful choices as AI investment demands skyrocket. SoftBank disclosed the Nvidia sale in November, sending ripples through markets already jittery about institutional selling pressure on the chip giant.
But Son's tears weren't just about missing out on Nvidia's continued rally - they reflected the opportunity cost of choosing between two AI goldmines. The sale funded SoftBank's broader AI war chest, including expanded investments in OpenAI, work on Stargate Project data centers, and the $6.5 billion acquisition of chip designer Ampere Computing.
"We're all in on OpenAI," Son said earlier this year, predicting the ChatGPT maker would become the world's most valuable company. That bet's already paying dividends - SoftBank's second-quarter net profit more than doubled to 2.5 trillion yen ($16.6 billion), driven largely by valuation gains in its OpenAI holdings.
The numbers reveal why Son made his tearful trade. While Nvidia shares have surged over 180% this year, OpenAI's private valuation has exploded from $29 billion to over $150 billion in less than two years. For Son, betting on the AI software layer trumped owning the hardware powering it.
Yet the Nvidia sale also highlights broader pressures facing AI investors as capital requirements balloon. SoftBank Vision Fund, once flush with Saudi sovereign wealth, now needs fresh ammunition for an AI arms race where single companies demand billions in funding rounds. "The Japanese giant could potentially increase its investment in OpenAI depending on performance and valuation," according to sources familiar with the matter.
