SoftBank's Son Wants to Invest in ChatGPT as 'Heavy User'

SoftBank’s Son Wants to Invest in ChatGPT as ‘Heavy User’

Time Stamp: September 18, 2023 5:56 AM
Source Node: 2277472

The
Japanese conglomerate SoftBank is seeking investment opportunities in the
artificial intelligence (AI) industry. Following the booming stock market debut
of its subsidiary Arm, a British chip manufacturer, Masayoshi Son’s company is
exploring the possibility of investing in OpenAI. The creator of the popular
ChatGPT is an attractive target for tech firms looking to join the rapidly
growing trend of AI-based solutions.

According
to a weekend report by the Financial Times (FT), at least two people
familiar with the matter confirmed that Son, the Founder and driving force
behind SoftBank, wants to invest tens of billions of dollars in the AI
industry.

OpenAI,
which has already received significant support from Microsoft, is one of the
options being considered by the Asian conglomerate. However, when asked for a commentary,
a SoftBank spokesperson told FT that the company does not comment on rumors.

Son
describes himself as a ‘heavy user’ of OpenAI’s chat service and has
established a close relationship with Sam Altman, the company’s CEO. According
to Son, Altman is currently ‘one of the most important people on the planet’,
with whom he allegedly speaks every day.

SoftBank
has already begun collaborating with OpenAI in the Japanese market, allowing
local companies to develop intelligent chatbots. If things do not work out with
ChatGPT, the company is considering alternative deals. One such option
would be the acquisition

of Graphcore, a British AI chip maker. Alongside Arm,
this would be another UK-based chip manufacturer to join SoftBank’s portfolio.

SoftBank’s AI Chip Maker
Makes Stock Market Debut

Last
Thursday, shares of Arm Holdings, a SoftBank subsidiary that produces AI chips,
went public on the Nasdaq stock exchange, rising 25% on the first day of
trading to $51. The company was valued at $60 billion and sold 95.5 million
shares under the symbol ARM.

Source: Yahoo Finance

Arm’s
technology powers nearly every chip in today’s smartphones, but the company
plans to shift its focus increasingly towards artificial intelligence. The
long-awaited debut on the American stock exchange

was the largest Wall Street
has seen in 2023.

It is worth
noting that Nvidia, one of the world’s largest chip manufacturers, was also
interested in Arm for a while. Talks about the sale of the subsidiary by
SoftBank had been ongoing since 2021, but in early 2022, the companies
announced the suspension of the acquisition. The reasons cited were ‘regulatory
challenges’ and a change in strategy by Son’s company, which decided to take it
public instead. This was successfully accomplished a year and a half later.

The
Japanese conglomerate SoftBank is seeking investment opportunities in the
artificial intelligence (AI) industry. Following the booming stock market debut
of its subsidiary Arm, a British chip manufacturer, Masayoshi Son’s company is
exploring the possibility of investing in OpenAI. The creator of the popular
ChatGPT is an attractive target for tech firms looking to join the rapidly
growing trend of AI-based solutions.

According
to a weekend report by the Financial Times (FT), at least two people
familiar with the matter confirmed that Son, the Founder and driving force
behind SoftBank, wants to invest tens of billions of dollars in the AI
industry.

OpenAI,
which has already received significant support from Microsoft, is one of the
options being considered by the Asian conglomerate. However, when asked for a commentary,
a SoftBank spokesperson told FT that the company does not comment on rumors.

Son
describes himself as a ‘heavy user’ of OpenAI’s chat service and has
established a close relationship with Sam Altman, the company’s CEO. According
to Son, Altman is currently ‘one of the most important people on the planet’,
with whom he allegedly speaks every day.

SoftBank
has already begun collaborating with OpenAI in the Japanese market, allowing
local companies to develop intelligent chatbots. If things do not work out with
ChatGPT, the company is considering alternative deals. One such option
would be the acquisition

of Graphcore, a British AI chip maker. Alongside Arm,
this would be another UK-based chip manufacturer to join SoftBank’s portfolio.

SoftBank’s AI Chip Maker
Makes Stock Market Debut

Last
Thursday, shares of Arm Holdings, a SoftBank subsidiary that produces AI chips,
went public on the Nasdaq stock exchange, rising 25% on the first day of
trading to $51. The company was valued at $60 billion and sold 95.5 million
shares under the symbol ARM.

Source: Yahoo Finance

Arm’s
technology powers nearly every chip in today’s smartphones, but the company
plans to shift its focus increasingly towards artificial intelligence. The
long-awaited debut on the American stock exchange

was the largest Wall Street
has seen in 2023.

It is worth
noting that Nvidia, one of the world’s largest chip manufacturers, was also
interested in Arm for a while. Talks about the sale of the subsidiary by
SoftBank had been ongoing since 2021, but in early 2022, the companies
announced the suspension of the acquisition. The reasons cited were ‘regulatory
challenges’ and a change in strategy by Son’s company, which decided to take it
public instead. This was successfully accomplished a year and a half later.

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