SoftBank’s big $2 billion investment in Intel showcases Masayoshi Son’s aggressive AI push

Beleaguered chip manufacturer Intel will receive a much-needed $2 billion capital injection from the Japanese venture capital giant, SoftBank Group, a move that signals the latter's increasing desire to attain a foothold in the bourgeoning semiconductor industry, reported Reuters on Tuesday.

As per the report, the investment by SoftBank, announced by both the companies on Monday, is a shot in the arm for Intel, which once commanded the topmost market share in the semiconductor space owing to the PC revolution. But, primarily due to management blunders and with the advent of the age of artificial intelligence (AI), Intel fell behind its competitors, such as Jensen Huang-led Nvidia, which saw immense possibility in the AI space.

Intel's deal with SoftBank will make the latter a top-10 shareholder and can bolster the Masayoshi Son-led VC giant's increasing bet in the AI chip space, the Reuters report added.

The SoftBank deal also follows closely on the heels of recent media reports which suggested that the Donald Trump-led U.S. administration was mulling buying a stake in Intel, following a high-profile meeting between President Trump and Intel's newly-appointed CEO, Lip-Bu Tan. The relationships between Tan and Trump has not been easy, with the mercurial American president accusing the former of having undisclosed ties with Chinese firms.

According to Reuters, the SoftBank's investment was not related to Trump and, immediately after announcing the deal, Son had said in a statement that this 'strategic investment' will bolster 'advanced semiconductor manufacturing and supply in the U.S.'

As per the Reuters report, SoftBank is likely to pay $23 per Intel share and the investment will happen via a primary issuance of Intel's common stock, which will be based on the semiconductor company's market capitalisation at the close of trading session on Monday, which amounts to an equity stake of about 2%.

Intel is not the only AI bet SoftBank as made. Earlier this year, the Tokyo-headquartered company had become an integral part of Stargate, a joint venture between Sam Altman-led OpenAI, SoftBank and software giant, Oracle. It was a development which was announced by Trump shortly after assuming office.

Stargate is a joint venture between SoftBank, ChatGPT's creator OpenAI, and Oracle (ORCL.N), opens new tab. U.S. President Donald Trump announced the project in January, saying that the companies would invest up to $500 billion.

Apart from this, SoftBank also is, at the moment, leading a whopping $40 billion funding round for the ChatGPT-maker, OpenAI, and also has invested in OpenAI's competitor, Perplexity AI.