TOPIC

/ company

Softbank

SoftBank is a Japanese telecommunications and internet company with operations spanning broadband, fixed-line telecommunications, e-commerce, the internet, finance, media and marketing, and other businesses.<br />

Chairman / President

Masayoshi Son

CEO / Managing Director

Masayoshi Son

CFO / Finance Director

Yoshimitsu Goto

Industry

Conglomerate

Website

softbank.jp

Headquarters address

SoftBank Group Corp.,1-9-1 Higashi-Shimbashi,Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-7303,Japan

Stock Code

TSE:9984

Year founded

1981

A staff member demonstrates a humanoid robot at the Lens Technology booth during the China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing on June 22, 2026. Photo: Reuters

Robotics

China’s robot rush: Morgan Stanley raises 2026 forecast to 50,000 units

China’s humanoid robot industry is scaling faster than expected, with Xpeng, Unitree and others accelerating mass production.

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IPO

The world’s 5 largest-ever IPOs, before Elon Musk’s SpaceX listing

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US, Israel war on Iran

Why war on Iran may be ‘accelerating end of US hegemony’ and damaging Stargate

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Japan

‘People are so polite’: why do Russian spies find Japan such an easy target?

A Russian spy, posing as a Ukrainian citizen, used a simple request for directions to trick a local worker into selling industrial secrets.

3 Feb 2026 - 5:21PM

People visit an observation tower in a suburb of Tokyo on Monday. Japan is pushing to strengthen its laws against spying. Photo: AFP

Artificial intelligence

Divergent AI growth paths emerge from China, US amid bubble concerns: CICC

Last year, US venture capital investment in AI reached US$175 billion, nearly 30 times China’s US$6 billion in the same period.

21 Jan 2026 - 9:30AM

Japan

Japan announces US$6 billion support for home-grown AI development

A new company will be established by around 10 firms including SoftBank Group Corp, aiming to develop the country’s largest base AI model.

21 Dec 2025 - 9:16PM

Robotics

Why Japan’s robotic pioneers are ceding the humanoid stage to China and the US

Japan’s university system has long centred on engineering faculties led by manufacturing, resulting in a relative shortage of AI talent.

14 Dec 2025 - 2:03PM

Kawasaki’s humanoid robot Kaleido takes out the rubbish as crowds watch during the IREX show in Tokyo. Photo: Wency Chen

Foxconn

Taiwan’s Foxconn expands AI hardware push with OpenAI deal

Foxconn sees profits soar after shifting its focus from low-margin iPhone assembly to AI servers that are now in huge demand.

21 Nov 2025 - 2:52PM

Nvidia

Nvidia’s latest earnings run into a market suddenly afraid of AI spending

Analysts expect the AI chip behemoth to show more than 50 per cent growth in both net income and revenue in its financial third quarter.

19 Nov 2025 - 2:36PM

Artificial intelligence

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.

12 Nov 2025 - 10:10AM

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

Semiconductors

Intel beats 3rd-quarter profit estimates as cost cuts, investments pay off

Intel forecast current-quarter revenue between US$12.8 billion and US$13.8 billion, compared with analysts’ estimates of US$13.37 billion.

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US-China tech war

China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race

The AI war is increasingly waged among ‘hyperscalers’ – companies with full-stack capabilities across software, hardware and applications.

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Semiconductors

Intel unveils new chip in make-or-break moment for turnaround bid

The company needs to show that its new products will win back lost market share and attract customers to its foundry division.

10 Oct 2025 - 10:07AM

Robotics

SoftBank strikes deal to acquire ABB’s robotics business for US$5.4 billion

The deal marks a significant push by SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son into robotics, as he expands investment after a period of retrenchment.

8 Oct 2025 - 3:50PM

ABB’s robotics business generated sales of US$2.3 billion in 2024, equivalent to 7 per cent of the Swiss firm’s total revenue. Photo: Shutterstock

OpenAI

OpenAI valuation hits US$500 billion, passes SpaceX as world’s largest start-up

San Francisco-based OpenAI completes a deal to help employees sell about US$6.6 billion of the firm’s stock to investors.

2 Oct 2025 - 4:16PM

Artificial intelligence

OpenAI expands Stargate with 5 new data centre sites across US

The expansion brings the companies closer to their goal of investing US$500 billion in domestic data centres and AI infrastructure.

24 Sep 2025 - 11:14AM

Semiconductors

Nvidia bets big on Intel with US$5 billion stake, chip partnership

The move comes just weeks after the White House engineered a deal for the US to take a 10 per cent stake in Intel.

19 Sep 2025 - 9:54AM

United States

Trump says Intel has agreed to deal for US to take 10% equity stake

The move marks a clear change of direction just weeks after Trump called for CEO Lip-Bu Tan to resign over his ties to Chinese firms.

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Artificial intelligence

OpenAI sees firm selling AI data centre services to offset ChatGPT costs

The start-up also generated US$1 billion in revenue in July, marking its first month hitting that milestone, finance chief Sarah Friar says.

21 Aug 2025 - 12:00PM

Intel

Chipmaker Intel’s US$24 billion rally sends valuation to dotcom levels

That surge comes on the back of reports that the US is eyeing a potential stake in Intel and SoftBank’s plans for a US$2 billion investment.

20 Aug 2025 - 4:01PM

Semiconductors

Japan’s SoftBank to invest US$2 billion in Intel as part of US push

SoftBank has been expanding its US footprint, including a recent deal to buy Foxconn’s electric vehicle plant in Ohio.

19 Aug 2025 - 9:43AM

Artificial intelligence

AI start-up Perplexity makes bold bid for Google’s Chrome browser

The US$34.5 billion unsolicited offer comes after OpenAI, Yahoo and Apollo Global Management have also expressed interest in Chrome.

13 Aug 2025 - 10:47AM

Google’s Bay View campus in Mountain View, California. Photo: AFP

IPO

SoftBank selects banks for US IPO of payments app amid tech rebound

US IPO activity has gained momentum in a long-awaited rebound, supported by strong tech earnings and signs of progress in trade talks.

11 Aug 2025 - 10:31AM

OpenAI

OpenAI in talks for share sale at US$500 billion valuation, sources say

If the deal goes ahead, it would elevate OpenAI’s valuation on paper by two-thirds to US$500 billion, making it one of the world’s largest privately held companies.

6 Aug 2025 - 12:18PM

Artificial intelligence

Shanghai targets 5 new data centres as China boosts AI capacity

China’s computing power reached 246 exaflops as of June 2024, placing it second only to the US, according to government data.

5 Aug 2025 - 7:00PM

Shanghai plans to build five new data centres by the end of this year. Photo: EPA

Semiconductors

SoftBank’s growing stakes in Nvidia and TSMC show focus on AI gear

Son eyes a more central role in the spread of AI with SoftBank’s access to some of the semiconductor supply chain’s most lucrative parts.

5 Aug 2025 - 5:07PM

SoftBank Group Corp founder, chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son speaks at the company’s event in Tokyo on July 16, 2025. Photo: EPA

Indonesia

Indonesia arrests founder of high-flying fish start-up over fraud scandal

An investigation revealed aquaculture start-up eFishery claimed revenues of over US$500 million more than its true earnings.

5 Aug 2025 - 2:24PM

Artificial intelligence

OpenAI to rent massive amount of computing power from Oracle

Totalling about 4.5 gigawatts, the unprecedented sum of energy could power millions of homes.

3 Jul 2025 - 11:45AM

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