SoftBank net profit doubles to $16.6 billion

Masayoshi Son's bet on OpenAI paying off

- ANTON BRIDGE

People walk past a sign outside SoftBank Group headquarters in Tokyo yesterday.

(AFP)

SoftBank Group Chief Executive Masayoshi Son's "all in" bet on OpenAI appears to be paying dividends after the ChatGPT-maker's valuation soared this year, producing a surge in quarterly profit for the Japanese technology investor.

The results mean more money for SoftBank to employ in its artificial intelligence-related investment spree even as concerns mount of an "AI bubble" in which valuations overestimate the profits the technologies can generate.

SoftBank reported yesterday second-quarter net profit more than doubled to ¥2.5 trillion ($16.6 billion), driven by valuation gains in its OpenAI holdings.

It has also stepped up fundraising activities, selling equity holdings, such as the remainder of its shares in Nvidia for $5.83 billion, as well as issuing bonds and taking out bridging loans.