Japanese investor SoftBank Group sinks into losses as company's AI hopes falter

SoftBank Group sank into losses for the latest quarter, the Japanese technology company reported Tuesday, as worries about investments in artificial intelligence hurt its bottom line.

Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. racked up a 1.1 trillion yen ($7 billion) loss for the three months through September, a reversal from the 2.5 trillion yen in profit the same period a year earlier. Quarterly sales rose 16% to 2.2 trillion yen from 1.9 trillion yen.

Analysts say the financial results for a company like SoftBank Group are difficult to predict as it invests in a variety of other companies, including OpenAI and Arm Holdings, whose fortunes tend to be volatile.

Founded by Masayoshi Son, SoftBank was an early investor in internet technology, and has focused on companies related to AI, telecommunications, robotics and e-commerce. It runs a series of investment funds called Vision Fund that center around a portfolio of various technology companies, including startups.

Son, a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, boasts a wide circle of friends among American entrepreneurs including Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates and Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. That is relatively unusual for a businessperson in Japan.

Son also has a highly public friendship with Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang. Son had sold his shares in Nvidia before the revelations of Huang's affair with an alleged Chinese government agent, which Nvidia officials and other authorities said was being investigated.

“I know the FBI is looking into it in terms of something else, and I think that he'll be in good shape,” U.S. President Donald Trump said at a White House briefing on Monday.

The disclosure has renewed concerns about whether China has been able to access Nvidia AI chips.

SoftBank Group stocks, which have lost about a third of their value over the last year, closed nearly 14% higher in Tokyo trading Tuesday, before the earnings results were released.