SoftBank triples Nvidia stake to ~$3 billion in Q1 2025
Adds ~$330 million of TSMC shares, boosting semiconductor holdings
Targets Arm architecture and Ampere acquisition to build AI hub
Monetised ~$2 billion from Vision Fund exits for hardware investments
SoftBank Group has significantly expanded its holdings in key semiconductor companies as part of its renewed focus on the hardware underpinning AI, Bloomberg reported.
By the end of its March quarter, SoftBank’s ownership of Nvidia Corp had risen to approximately $3 billion, triple the prior quarter, while fresh purchases of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co shares added roughly $330 million to its portfolio, according to regulatory disclosures.
These heavy chip purchases coincide with nearly $2 billion in monetisations from SoftBank’s Vision Fund in the first half of 2025. While the fund is under no mandate to liquidate assets, recent exits including cloud-security firm Wiz Inc and food-delivery platform DoorDash Inc have bolstered liquidity for fresh hardware investments.
“Nvidia is the picks and shovels for the gold rush of AI,” said Tenacity Venture partner Ben Narasin, noting that SoftBank’s renewed Nvidia position may buy both influence and early access to coveted AI accelerators.
Arm Holdings
At the core of SoftBank’s AI ambitions remains Arm Holdings Plc, which designs the chips powering most mobile devices and an increasing range of data-centre processors. Masayoshi Son is forging partnerships around Arm’s architecture and courting top foundries like TSMC to build an “AI manufacturing hub” that could rival existing US installations.
SoftBank’s planned $6.5 billion acquisition of Ampere Computing LLC and a further $30 billion commitment to OpenAI underline the group’s strategy to dominate both compute infrastructure and AI software.
Catching Up After Missing the Nvidia Rally
SoftBank was an early backer of AI but largely missed out on Nvidia’s post-ChatGPT rise, having sold down its original 4.9 percent stake in early 2019, now worth over $200 billion on paper.
Amid mounting losses at the Vision Fund, the recent re-entry into Nvidia and TSMC reflects Son’s push to reclaim a share of the semiconductor supply chain’s most lucrative segments. Since April’s lows Nvidia has surged nearly 90 percent while TSMC has rallied more than 40 percent, helping offset SoftBank’s previous underexposure.
SoftBank’s chip bets coincide with growing US scrutiny of foreign technology projects. Its Ampere deal is under review by the Federal Trade Commission and broader AI infrastructure has become a geopolitical flashpoint. Son has leveraged his ties in Washington to navigate these headwinds even as SoftBank’s market capitalisation, about $119 billion, trades at a steep discount to its $175 billion net-asset valuation.
