SoftBank sells stake in Nvidia for $5.8bn as it doubles down on OpenAI bets

"The Japanese technology investor SoftBank intensified the debate about valuations in the artificial intelligence world on Tuesday by revealing it had sold its stake in the chipmaker Nvidia. In its latest quarterly results, SoftBank showed it had sold its shares in Nvidia for $5.8bn (4.4bn) in October, as it doubles down on its bets on OpenAI, the group behind the ChatGPT chatbot. It also reported that second-quarter net profit more than doubled to 2.5tn yen (12.2bn), driven by valuation gains in its OpenAI holdings."

"Asked about the timing of the sale of the Nvidia stake, the chief financial officer, Yoshimitsu Goto, told reporters that because SoftBank's investment in OpenAI was very substantial, the company had to use its existing assets to finance new investments. This year our investment in OpenAI is large more than $30bn needs to be made so for that we do need to divest our existing portfolios, Goto said. We did not have a specific [reason to sell] in October and it was nothing to do with Nvidia itself."

"Russ Mould, the investment director at AJ Bell, said: People are looking for clues that the tech rally is close to the top, and SoftBank's profit-taking in the chip giant is significant. Investors typically sell out of positions when they believe the valuation is too rich, the growth prospects for the company are less attractive than before, or they've found something better to back and need cash to make that investment. Nvidia's market value had soared during 2024 and 2025, helping to fuel concern"

SoftBank sold its entire Nvidia stake for $5.8bn in October and trimmed part of its T-Mobile holding to raise cash for AI investments. The company reported second-quarter net profit more than doubled to 2.5tn yen, driven by valuation gains in its OpenAI holdings. SoftBank plans to invest more than $30bn in OpenAI this year, prompting divestments of existing portfolio assets to finance those commitments. Company executives stated the Nvidia sale was not due to Nvidia-specific concerns but was undertaken to free funds for substantial OpenAI investments. Markets reacted with declines in Nvidia and other tech shares.

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