Source: Caixin.
At the shareholder meeting on Thursday, Masayoshi Son claimed that he is ready to go all in on artificial intelligence, 'win or lose'. On Friday this week, Masayoshi Son went even further by saying that everything SoftBank has done before was just a warm-up for realizing the AI dream, and that within 10 years, super AI might emerge with capabilities 10,000 times greater than humans.
With its share price falling by 29.5% this year, the market has questioned Musk's multi-line operations strategy and its impact on the company's future. As CEO of Tesla, Musk also manages SpaceX, Neuralink, The Boring Co., as well as his recently acquired social media platform X (formerly Twitter) and AI startup xAI.$Arm Holdings (ARM.US)$With the rise of artificial intelligence, market cap is skyrocketing.$SoftBank Group (9984.JP)$Founder Masayoshi Son has regained confidence in technology investment. Currently, he is eager to seize the opportunity and make significant investments in artificial intelligence.
At the shareholders' meeting on Thursday, Son claimed that he is ready to bet everything on AI, "regardless of the outcome." On Friday, he went further, saying that everything SoftBank has done so far has been a warm-up for their ultimate goal of creating a "super AI." He predicts that super AI may appear within 10 years, with an ability that is 10,000 times greater than humans.
He predicts that 'super AI' is likely to appear within 10 years, and its ability will be 10,000 times that of humans.
Investment in AI is a must regardless of whether SoftBank wins or loses.
On Thursday, Son expressed his determination to invest in artificial intelligence.
He said that his next big project may be a great success or a complete failure, but SoftBank has no choice but to try. "We need to find the next big thing without worrying about whether it will be a success or a failure," Son said at the shareholders' meeting.
SoftBank's CFO Yoshimitsu Goto recently made similar remarks, stating that SoftBank needs to take on more risk, especially as AI development accelerates.
Son added that while the company lost billions of dollars betting on WeWork, 'the vitality of SoftBank Group comes from seeking new evolutionary seeds, especially overseas.'
For Son, the 'new evolutionary seed' is clearly artificial intelligence.
Was it all just a warm-up before?
On Friday, Son continued to express optimism about the prospects for artificial intelligence and boldly declared that the group's mission is to help humanity progress by realizing super AI.
Son said: 'SoftBank Group has done a lot of things so far, and these are all warm-ups for the great dream of my AI.'
Son plans to create an era of 'super artificial intelligence.' He claims that the company's chips will support an ecosystem consisting of robots and powerful data centers, which can cure cancer, clean houses, and play with children.
He predicts that 'super AI' may appear within 10 years, and declares that the ability of 'super AI' will be more than 10,000 times that of humans.
Son said that his ambition for artificial intelligence depends on his subsidiary Arm Holdings, the chip design giant.
Arm, a chip design company, rose in value since its initial public offering last September due to the wave of AI. As of now, Arm's share price has doubled from its issue price, and its market cap exceeds $100 billion.
Although SoftBank Group suffered huge losses from failed investments such as WeWork in the past, the group has achieved profitability for two consecutive quarters. The soaring value of investment projects such as Arm is indispensable. At present, Arm has become Son's second 'money tree' after Alibaba, and Son is apparently prepared to continue betting heavily on artificial intelligence.
Although SoftBank suffered huge losses due to failed investments such as Wework, the company has achieved profits for two consecutive quarters. The soaring asset value of investment projects such as Arm is critical to the success. Currently, Arm has become Masayoshi Son's second 'cash cow' after Alibaba, and he is clearly ready to continue to invest heavily in artificial intelligence. $Alibaba (BABA.US)$As of the end of March, SoftBank had accumulated 6.2 trillion yen (approximately US$39 billion) in cash reserves. According to a report from February of this year, Masayoshi Son is seeking funding of up to $100 billion to invest in a chip company to produce artificial intelligence semiconductors and compete with the current global chip 'tyrants'.
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