SoftBank CEO’s October Dilemma: Why Dumping Nvidia for OpenAI Wasn’t So Simple

Vision Fund's AI pivot hits a snag—and it's all about timing.

The Unload That Couldn't Happen

October was supposed to be a strategic shift. The plan? Move capital from the established giant, Nvidia, into the disruptive force of OpenAI. On paper, it's the kind of bold, future-facing bet that defines SoftBank's reputation. But the market had other ideas.

Liquidity vs. Conviction

Exiting a position in a behemoth like Nvidia isn't like cashing out of a meme coin. Scale matters. Doing it without moving the market—and crushing your own returns—requires a dance more delicate than a stablecoin depeg. Sometimes, the biggest constraint on a grand vision isn't the idea itself, but the mechanics of making it real.

The New AI Arms Race

This isn't just a portfolio rebalance. It's a signal flare. When one of the world's most aggressive tech investors publicly wrestles with a switch from hardware enabler to pure-play AI model investment, it frames the entire sector's existential question: bet on the picks and shovels, or bet on the miners digging for AGI?

So the CEO admits the difficulty. A rare moment of operational transparency, or a calculated narrative for the next earnings call? In high finance, even a confession can be a forward-looking statement. The takeaway is clear: in the rush to fund the future, sometimes you're stuck holding the very profitable present.

$5.8 billion Nvidia exit fueled record profits

Earlier disclosures showed SoftBank unloaded 32.1 million Nvidia shares during October, bringing in $5.8 billion, as reported by Cryptopolitan earlier. The sale came to light when the company released second-quarter earnings figures showing profits had more than doubled to 2.5 trillion yen, about $16.6 billion.

That marked SoftBank’s strongest three-month period since the summer of 2022, boosted mainly by paper gains on its OpenAI investment worth 2.16 trillion yen for the quarter.

This isn’t the first time SoftBank walked away from Nvidia. Back in 2019, the firm sold off a $3.6 billion stake, then bought back in during 2020 before this latest exit. That earlier MOVE haunts the company; those original shares would now be valued at north of $150 billion if held.

During an earnings discussion, SoftBank’s finance chief Yoshimitsu Goto shed light on why the company needed the money. “This year our investment in OpenAI is large, more than $30 billion needs to be made,” Goto said. “For that, we do need to divest our existing assets.”

Goto stressed the October sale timing wasn’t meant to signal anything special about Nvidia’s prospects. He described it as normal business for SoftBank, which constantly moves money around, selling some holdings to fund new ones. He emphasized the decision had “nothing to do with Nvidia itself.”

Massive asset sale to fund AI push

SoftBank’s commitment to OpenAI has expanded dramatically recently. Last March, the company agreed to lead a funding round reaching up to $40 billion, valuing OpenAI at $300 billion. The deal involved an initial $10 billion payment in April, followed by as much as $30 billion in December. SoftBank plans to bring in other investors for $10 billion, leaving its own total at $30 billion.

In October, SoftBank’s board approved another $22.5 billion installment, but with strings attached—OpenAI must finish restructuring its business to allow going public someday. If that doesn’t happen by year’s end, SoftBank’s total drops to $20 billion. By late December, SoftBank expects to have $34.7 billion invested in OpenAI.

OpenAI’s worth has skyrocketed from $157 billion last October to $300 billion in March, then jumped to $500 billion after employees sold shares last month. As reported by Cryptopolitan, that makes it the priciest private company anywhere, even bigger than Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

To fund the OpenAI deal, SoftBank has been selling off other investments, including $9.17 billion worth of T-Mobile stock between June and September. The company also issued bonds, took out bridge loans, and expanded a margin loan backed by Arm Holdings shares from $13.5 billion to $20 billion.

Progress on Stargate has lagged expectations. Goto admitted in September that getting all partners, including Oracle and Abu Dhabi’s MGX, on the same page takes time.

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