SoftBank’s founder Masayoshi Son is known for chasing the next big thing. Some of his big bets on tech companies, such as Alibaba and Arm, have paid off. There have also been expensive flops such as office-share provider WeWork. A bet on Son is a bet on an investment strategy driven by conviction as much as fundamental value.
Now, Son is making his most ambitious bet yet — on artificial intelligence. With high upfront investment demands, uncertain future returns and a reliance on backing the right horse, AI is right up Son’s street.
SoftBank’s latest earnings highlight the challenge. The company fell to a loss of ¥369.2bn ($2.4bn) in the quarter to December, compared with a gain of ¥950bn in the same quarter the year before, missing analysts’ forecasts for a net profit. A ¥352.7bn loss in its Vision Funds underscores the volatility of its tech-heavy portfolio and could raise concerns about the financial logic of its latest bet: Stargate.