SoftBank Sells Nvidia Stake for $5.8 Billion to Fund AI Bets

Background

On November 11, SoftBank Group fully liquidated its holdings in NVIDIA, cashing out nearly USD 5.8 billion. Together with CoreWeave—in which SoftBank holds about 7%—cutting its full-year guidance, tech stocks fell broadly, dragging the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down 2.48% and reigniting concerns over AI’s elevated valuations.

SoftBank explained that the sale was part of an asset monetization strategy. In addition to selling its NVIDIA shares, SoftBank also reduced its stake in T-Mobile and secured a margin loan backed by its Arm Holdings shares. The proceeds will be used to fund a USD 22.5 billion investment in OpenAI and to advance its “Physical AI” initiative, which includes the acquisition of ABB’s robotics division

Commentary

The market has taken a cautious stance toward SoftBank’s divestment of NVIDIA shares. However, analysts note that SoftBank and NVIDIA remain deeply intertwined, with close technological collaboration across major projects such as the USD 500 billion “Stargate” U.S. data center initiative and Ampere Computing. This suggests that SoftBank’s “All in AI” strategy remains unchanged, and that the sale was likely intended to raise capital rather than to exit the AI sector.

Meanwhile, AMD CEO Lisa Su continues to project a bullish outlook for AI, forecasting that AMD’s overall revenue could grow at an annual rate of 35% over the next three to five years, which boosted AMD shares by 5.89% in after-hours trading.



We believe that it is premature to call for an AI valuation correction. AI infrastructure continues to expand capacity, and AI applications are extending into real-world use cases, not merely visionary concepts—demand and valuation growth remain aligned. The greater concern lies in energy supply, as AI’s enormous power consumption requires massive and stable electricity to operate. Whether future power supply can keep pace with AI’s soaring demand—and how governments shape energy policy in response—will be critical areas to watch.