Not Google, Microsoft, NVIDIA, ‘this AI company will be world’s most valuable’ says SoftBank founder

SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son has called Sam Altman’s OpenAI as “the most valuable company in the world” while speaking at a shareholder meeting. He said that the Japanese company is banking majorly on the artificial intelligence (AI) company as it plans investments worth 4.8 trillion Japanese yen (around USD 33.2 billion). Son expressed positive growth for ChatGPT maker and said that the currently unlisted and not profitable OpenAI will become the world’s most valuable company.  

While describing the larger goal of the multinational investment holding, CEO Masayoshi Son said that it will be one of the frontrunners in the new era of artificial superintelligence (ASI), a concept he said describes the era as AI becomes 10,000 times smarter than humans. This year, the Japanese tech conglomerate plans to strengthen its partnership with OpenAI by being a part of the latter’s USD 500 billion Stargate project. 

In the meeting, Son talked about the time when OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sought SoftBank’s help of a USD 10 billion investment long before Microsoft partnered with the AI company by signing deals with it. “I said, yes, I would,” Son told shareholders. Later Altman made a partnership with Microsoft which recently held out on approving OpenAI's restructuring plan, which aims to transform its for-profit division into a public benefit corporation.  

Even as the partnership between Microsoft and OpenAI wades through difficult waters, Son’s commitment towards Sam Altman’s firm remains constant though his company’s new investments. However, the company warned of reducing its stake in OpenAI if the latter does not ensure its restructuring by December 31. However, Son also ensured the company that his company’s support will remain the same “regardless of what happens with Microsoft.”  

According to Son, this strengthening partnership is crucial to SoftBank’s vision of building the world’s largest ASI platform. His long-term commitment is due to his ambitious vision for SoftBank to become the “organizer of the industry in the artificial superintelligence era” in the next decade. SoftBank has investments in both US and UK.