Masayoshi Son of SoftBank trades a $5.8 billion Nvidia windfall for a bigger gamble on OpenAI, just as whispers of an AI bubble get louder.
A 5.8 Billion-Dollar Goodbye
SoftBank has officially cashed out of Nvidia. The Japanese tech conglomerate sold its entire 32.1 million-share stake in October, bagging roughly $5.83 billion. The move, announced Tuesday alongside quarterly results, is part of founder Masayoshi Son’s latest grand wager: a $22.5 billion investment in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, according to reports.
SoftBank also sold a $9.2 billion slice of T-Mobile and took a margin loan against Arm to free up more cash for what it’s calling a strategic asset monetization. Or, in plainer terms, Son is liquidating some of his biggest chips to buy into what he believes is the next jackpot.
Japanese giant SoftBank said Tuesday it has sold its entire stake in tech giant Nvidia for $5.83 billion.
— CNBC International (@CNBCi) November 11, 2025
Click here to read more: https://t.co/jmXF2im7Xf pic.twitter.com/P6x4BVCjKS
“This should not be seen as a cautious or negative stance on Nvidia,” said Rolf Bulk of New Street Research, noting that SoftBank needs more than $30 billion for new investments this quarter alone, including its OpenAI stake and a planned buyout of Ampere.
- Once Bitten, Now With Backup: SoftBank Founder Returns to Bitcoin After $130M Loss in 2018
- SoftBank's Son Wants to Invest in OpenAI as ChatGPT 'Heavy User'
- SoftBank Leads $65 Million Funding Round of Digits
Nvidia’s Not Crying (Much)
Nvidia shares dipped about 2% after the announcement, but the reaction looked more like a twitch than a collapse. SoftBank’s stake was minuscule compared with Nvidia’s $5 trillion market capitalization. “It is never going be a fun thing to watch one of your most high-profile investors sell all their shares in your company, and that is what has happened at Nvidia. But a few things to put this into perspective. First of all, this stake in Nvidia was very small compared with Nvidia itself, which is very big,” said FT analyst John Foley.
In fact, SoftBank’s exit could even help Nvidia indirectly. The cash is being redirected into AI ventures that rely heavily on Nvidia’s chips. Stock dip aside, the funds are still in a market that benefits Nvidia.
softbank is selling its nvidia stake to fund companies whose main expense is buying from nvidia? pic.twitter.com/DGzhjPg2FJ
— sophie (@netcapgirl) November 11, 2025
With Nvidia still commanding around 85-90% of the high-end AI chip market, its dominance remains nearly untouchable. Rivals like Google and Intel are trying to nibble at its edges, but for now Nvidia is still the dealer at the world’s most crowded casino table.
The AI Bubble Wobbles?
If the sale had stopped there, markets might have shrugged. But timing is everything. Nvidia’s valuation has rocketed over 1,200% in three years, and investors are starting to sweat. In short, the sell-off has got investors worried that any artificial intelligence (AI ) bubble might be about to burst.
Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have both recently hinted that tech equities could be due for a drawdown. Meanwhile, Michael Burry, the famed short seller who predicted the 2008 housing crash, has reportedly bet against Nvidia and Palantir. When the man behind The Big Short bets against your sector, people pay attention.
C. J. Muse at Cantor Fitzgerald was blunter: “As for timing, cannot say Masayoshi Son has been great with his trading of Nvidia shares.” After all, SoftBank once sold a $4 billion Nvidia stake in 2019, missing out on what would have been a $100 billion windfall.
Betting the House on OpenAI
And those bets are enormous. The proceeds from the Nvidia sale are being funneled into OpenAI and the $500 billion “Stargate” project, a data-center expansion across the United States that could define the next chapter of AI infrastructure.
SoftBank’s CFO Yoshimitsu Goto insists this is all part of a deliberate strategy to maintain financial strength while doubling down on AI. The company’s Vision Fund has already racked up a $19 billion gain this quarter, driven largely by AI investments. SoftBank’s stake in OpenAI is set to rise from 4% to 11%, with the potential to go higher depending on future valuations.
But those valuations are getting, well, cosmic. OpenAI’s worth has ballooned to $500 billion, and it’s reportedly considering a $1 trillion public listing as soon as next year. That’s great news for Son, unless the music stops before the IPO bell rings.
Vision, Mania, or Both?
SoftBank has always walked the fine line between visionary and gambler. Its past is littered with both triumphs and disasters, from early bets on Alibaba to flops like WeWork. Now Son is effectively selling Nvidia, arguably the cornerstone of the AI boom, to fund a company that depends on Nvidia’s chips. It’s either a masterstroke of circular logic or a clever way to keep the roulette wheel spinning.
Market nerves aside, SoftBank insists it’s not retreating from AI. For now, SoftBank’s stock has doubled this year, buoyed by the same AI optimism that lifted Nvidia to the stratosphere. But as experienced tech watchers will know, gravity almost always has a way of catching up.
For more stories of tech and finance, visit our Trending pages.
