SoftBank Group is increasing its stakes in NVIDIA Corporation and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, marking the latest manifestation of founder Masayoshi Son's focus on tools and hardware supporting artificial intelligence technology.

Regulatory filings show that as of the end of March, the Japanese technology investment company's holdings in NVIDIA increased to approximately $3 billion, up significantly from $1 billion in the previous quarter. The filings also revealed that SoftBank purchased approximately $330 million worth of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing shares and $170 million in Oracle Corporation stock.

Meanwhile, according to a source familiar with activities at SoftBank's flagship Vision Fund, the fund has realized nearly $2 billion in public and private assets during the first half of 2025. The source, who requested anonymity due to the private nature of the information, indicated that the Vision Fund prioritizes investment returns, and SoftBank has not imposed particular pressure on asset realizations. A SoftBank representative declined to comment.

At the core of SoftBank's artificial intelligence strategy lies chip design company Arm Holdings Plc. Son is working alongside key industry participants to gradually build a portfolio around this Cambridge, UK-based company, seeking to catch up after missing the historic rally that transformed NVIDIA into a $4 trillion market cap giant and elevated its foundry partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing to a $1 trillion valuation.

"NVIDIA is the picks and shovels of the AI gold rush," said Ben Narasin, founder and general partner of Tenacity Venture Capital, referring to the collective effort by the world's largest technology companies investing hundreds of billions of dollars to gain an edge. He suggested that SoftBank Group's purchase of the American company's stock could provide it with more influence and access to NVIDIA's most sought-after chips, stating, "Maybe he can cut to the front of the line."

SoftBank Group reported on August 7 that it returned to profitability for the quarter ending in June, boosted by gains from its holdings in NVIDIA and Coupang Inc., providing further support for founder Son's planned bets in artificial intelligence technology. SoftBank reported a net profit of 421.82 billion yen (approximately $2.9 billion) for the quarter, far exceeding the Bloomberg analyst consensus of 158.23 billion yen, compared to a net loss of 174.3 billion yen in the same period last year.

The Vision Fund also delivered results that satisfied investors. The Vision Fund division posted investment gains of 726.84 billion yen for the quarter, with pre-tax profits of 451.39 billion yen, compared to losses of 204.3 billion yen in the same period last year.

This move helps compensate for SoftBank Group missing most of the gains from NVIDIA's rally following ChatGPT's launch—one of the largest rallies in history. SoftBank had begun betting on artificial intelligence well before OpenAI launched its groundbreaking chatbot, but sold its 4.9% stake in NVIDIA in early 2019, a position now worth over $200 billion.

Heavy losses at the Vision Fund also weakened SoftBank's ability to become an early investor in generative artificial intelligence. SoftBank's attempt to repurchase some NVIDIA stock, along with shares of its foundry partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, would help Son regain access to the most profitable segments of the semiconductor supply chain.

The 67-year-old Son now seeks to play a more central role in AI adoption through extensive partnerships. These include SoftBank's collaboration with OpenAI, Oracle, and Abu Dhabi-backed investment fund MGX on the $500 billion Stargate data center project. Son is also courting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and other companies to participate in a $1 trillion AI manufacturing hub project in Arizona.

Richard Kaye, co-head of Japanese equity strategy at Comgest Asset Management and a long-term SoftBank investor, noted that because Arm Holdings' intellectual property powers most mobile chips and is increasingly used in server chips, SoftBank can occupy a privileged position without becoming a manufacturer itself.

"I think he sees himself as a natural supplier of AI semiconductor technology," he said. "What Son really wants to do is control the upstream and downstream of the entire industry chain."

Investors have welcomed Son's bold plans. SoftBank's stock price hit a record high on August 8, the day after earnings were released. SoftBank's plans to acquire American chip company Ampere Computing LLC for $6.5 billion and invest $30 billion in OpenAI have further encouraged investors, who view SoftBank stock as a good opportunity to ride the growth wave of this American startup.

However, according to sources familiar with the billionaire, Son remains unsatisfied. The sources indicate that Son believes these large American projects have the potential to help SoftBank surpass current AI leaders and become a company with a trillion-dollar or even larger market capitalization.

SoftBank's current stock price trades at approximately a 40% discount to the group's total asset value, which includes about 90% ownership of Arm Holdings, valued at $148 billion. SoftBank's market capitalization is about $140 billion, just a fraction of NVIDIA's $4.4 trillion market cap and well below other technology companies closely tied to AI progress.

Having witnessed the U.S. government block or disrupt merger plans such as NVIDIA's acquisition of Arm Holdings, Son is now trying to leverage his relationship with Donald Trump, frequently arranging meetings with White House officials. These efforts become crucial as artificial intelligence and semiconductors become geopolitical hotspots. SoftBank's plan to acquire Ampere Computing is facing investigation by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

Market attention focuses on what other assets SoftBank Group might sell to help secure the liquidity needed to increase investments in hardware. The Japanese company has already raised approximately $4.8 billion by selling part of its T-Mobile stake in June.

SoftBank Group CFO Goto Yoshimitsu stated that the company's net asset value reached 25.7 trillion yen (approximately $175 billion) as of the end of March, saying the company has sufficient funds to meet its financing needs.

During the fiscal year ending in March, Vision Fund exits included DoorDash Inc. and View Inc., as well as cloud security company Wiz Inc. and enterprise software startup Peak, while SoftBank increased its holdings in NVIDIA, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, and Oracle during this period.

"We are positioning ourselves in the AI field through a series of startups and group companies," Son said at the June shareholders' meeting. "We have a goal—we will become the number one platform provider in the field of artificial super intelligence."