SoftBank shares dive after Nvidia sale spooks AI-wary market

‘I can’t say if we’re in an AI bubble or not,’ SoftBank’s finance chief says, adding that the sale is a necessary financing measure

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A SoftBank store in Tokyo’s Ginza shopping district. Photo: AP

Published: 10:10am, 12 Nov 2025

SoftBank Group sold its entire stake in Nvidia for US$5.83 billion to help bankroll artificial intelligence investments, even as investors question the amount of capital pouring into a technology with uncertain returns.

Founder Masayoshi Son has been unwinding positions to pay for a plethora of AI projects, from Stargate data centres with OpenAI and Oracle to robot manufacturing sites in the US.

The Nvidia exit coincides with a growing debate about whether spending by Big Tech firms like Meta Platforms and Alphabet – expected to surpass US$1 trillion in coming years – will produce commensurate returns.

SoftBank’s stock slid more than 10 per cent in Tokyo on Wednesday, highlighting how investors remain nervous about lofty tech valuations. Nvidia’s shares slid as much as 3.9 per cent in US trading, after climbing 48 per cent this year through Monday’s close.

SoftBank is keen to become a leading player in that growing ecosystem, with plans to leverage stakes in sector linchpins from OpenAI to US chip designer Ampere Computing.

Nvidia’s headquarters in Santa Clara, California. Photo: EPA

On Tuesday, SoftBank executives sidestepped questions about whether the industry was fomenting an AI investment bubble and said the sale had nothing to do with Nvidia itself but was a necessary financing measure.

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