Softbank’s AI Bet Pays Off with Record Profits from OpenAI Investment
Softbank has transformed its bold wager on artificial intelligence into a historic windfall. The Japanese conglomerate's Vision Fund 2 began investing heavily in OpenAI during late 2024, a MOVE that has since yielded $19 billion in quarterly profits. OpenAI's valuation now exceeds $500 billion as of November 2025.
To fuel its AI ambitions, Softbank liquidated positions in Nvidia and T-Mobile. The firm plans to deploy over $34 billion in total AI investments by December. "This result stems from our September OpenAI investment," stated CFO Yoshimitsu Goto, underscoring how quickly speculative bets have materialized into concrete returns.
While Elon Musk maintains that AI's billion-dollar potential remains futuristic, Softbank demonstrates the technology's present-day profitability. The company emerges as an early pillar of the AI revolution, having converted theoretical promise into unprecedented financial gains.
