SoftBank Sells Nvidia Stake to Fund OpenAI Push — Market Reacts, Strategy Shifts

SoftBank has sold its entire $5.83 billion stake in U.S. chipmaker Nvidia, marking another calculated move in its ongoing pivot toward next-generation AI enterprise investments, according to a CNBC report.

The Japanese conglomerate disclosed that it sold 32.1 million Nvidia shares in October as part of a broader strategy to “maintain financial strength” while unlocking capital for large-scale investments. SoftBank also offloaded part of its T-Mobile stake for $9.17 billion, a move that reinforces its focus on high-value AI opportunities, including OpenAI and ABB’s robotics business.

“We want to provide a lot of investment opportunities for investors while we can still maintain financial strength,” said Yoshimitsu Goto, Chief Financial Officer, SoftBank, during the investor presentation, translated by the company.

Funding the Next AI Chapter

According to CNBC, the stake sale forms part of a larger plan to fund SoftBank’s $22.5 billion investment in OpenAI, along with other AI-driven projects, including the acquisition of ABB’s robotics division. According to the report, the Nvidia sale was not driven by concerns about AI valuations but by a need to mobilise liquidity for SoftBank’s aggressive AI expansion.

This latest round of asset monetisation adds to SoftBank’s long history with Nvidia. The company’s Vision Fund had previously held a $4 billion position in Nvidia in 2017 before exiting in 2019. Yet, despite this second full divestment, the relationship between the two firms remains deeply intertwined — SoftBank’s ongoing projects, such as the $500 billion Stargate data center initiative in the U.S., rely heavily on Nvidia’s AI chips and computing infrastructure.

Market Reaction

Market analysts see the move as a strategic reallocation rather than a signal of caution.

“This should not be seen as a negative stance on Nvidia, but rather in the context of SoftBank needing at least $30.5 billion of capital for investments in the October-December quarter,” said Rolf Bulk, Equity Research Analyst at New Street Research.

That figure includes $22.5 billion for OpenAI and $6.5 billion for Ampere, representing more investment in one quarter than the company has made in the past two years combined.

Dan Baker, Equity Analyst at Morningstar, added that the decision doesn’t indicate a shift in corporate philosophy.

“SoftBank made a point of saying that it wasn’t any view on Nvidia. At the end of the day, they are using the money to invest in other AI-related companies,” Baker noted.

The sale also comes on the heels of a strong fiscal second quarter, where SoftBank’s Vision Fund posted a $19 billion gain, helping the company double its profit. The fund has aggressively expanded into the AI value chain, investing in chipmakers, robotics firms, and companies building large language models.

“The reason we were able to have this result is because of September last year; that was the first time we invested in OpenAI,” Goto said.

Following recapitalisation and the $22.5 billion OpenAI investment, SoftBank’s ownership in the ChatGPT maker will reportedly rise from 4% to 11%, with potential for further increases depending on future valuations.

SoftBank’s Nvidia exit signals not a withdrawal from semiconductors but a strategic repositioning — channelling capital into an AI enterprise ecosystem where chips, models, and data centres intersect. Its ongoing involvement in infrastructure-heavy projects like Stargate and its deepening ties with OpenAI underscore a broader ambition: to dominate the AI value chain from silicon to software.

For global enterprises, this move offers a glimpse into the evolving balance of power in AI—from hardware-driven growth to platform-led, capital-intensive ecosystems.