SoftBank Shares Slide Following Nvidia Stake Sale Amid Market Concerns Over AI Valuations
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SoftBank Group’s shares dropped sharply this week following the company’s announcement that it has fully divested its holdings in Nvidia, raising $5.83 billion in the process. The move, intended to finance a series of ambitious artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives, has triggered renewed concerns among investors over whether the market is overheating on AI bets with uncertain financial returns.
The Japanese tech conglomerate, led by founder Masayoshi Son, is undergoing a strategic transformation that places AI at the center of its investment vision. The proceeds from the Nvidia sale are expected to help fund several capital-intensive projects, including the Stargate hyperscale data center collaboration with OpenAI and Oracle, as well as advanced robotics manufacturing initiatives based in the United States.
While SoftBank’s leadership maintains that the sale is a necessary step to support long-term innovation, the timing of the divestment has drawn skepticism from analysts. The market reacted swiftly, with SoftBank shares declining as investors interpreted the sale as a signal of caution—or even doubt—about the immediate profitability of AI-driven investments.
Speaking at a financial briefing, SoftBank’s Chief Financial Officer admitted that investor sentiment surrounding AI remains volatile. “I can’t say if we’re in an AI bubble or not,” he stated candidly. “But for us, the capital raised through this transaction is critical to supporting strategic projects that define our vision for the future.”
The decision to exit Nvidia also comes at a moment of growing global debate around AI investment sustainability. Industry giants such as Meta Platforms, Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft are collectively expected to spend more than $1 trillion on AI infrastructure and services in the coming years. However, the expected timeline for returns on such investments remains highly uncertain, particularly as regulatory frameworks, computing costs, and market adoption continue to evolve.
Masayoshi Son has previously described SoftBank as “the capital provider for the AI revolution,” emphasizing the company’s shift away from traditional telecoms and legacy tech toward next-generation platforms powered by machine learning and automation. That pivot has involved high-risk investments through its Vision Fund, many of which have yielded mixed results, particularly during the post-COVID tech valuation reset.
SoftBank had acquired its Nvidia stake during an earlier phase of the AI boom, well before the chipmaker’s current dominance in AI training and inference chips. Nvidia’s stock has since surged, driven by overwhelming demand for its graphics processing units (GPUs), widely used to power generative AI applications.
Analysts have mixed views on SoftBank’s decision to sell now. Some see it as prudent profit-taking after a dramatic run-up in Nvidia’s stock price. Others interpret the move as signaling that even early believers in AI may be bracing for a cooling-off period as the market recalibrates.
“Selling out of Nvidia might make sense in terms of liquidity,” said a Tokyo-based equity strategist. “But it also raises questions about SoftBank’s confidence in the short-term monetization of the very AI projects it is now doubling down on.”
SoftBank’s sale adds to a broader conversation among institutional investors about the balance between aggressive AI investment and responsible capital deployment. With so many AI ventures still in their experimental phases, the pressure is growing on companies to show tangible returns beyond headlines and projections.
