Technology
Archived — This article has been archived. The information may be outdated.
SoftBank shares fall over 13 percent in Tokyo
The Hindu BusinessLine··14 Sept
SoftBank Group shares fell more than 13 percent in Tokyo on Monday, their steepest drop since late June. The slide followed calls by Anthropic and OpenAI leaders to slow frontier AI development for safety. SoftBank’s OpenAI investment is set to reach close to $65 billion by October. OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman also said the startup will not list in 2026.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Equity and credit markets are pricing higher risk around SoftBank’s leveraged AI bets.
- SoftBank credit default swaps widened to the highest level since March 30, near three-year highs.
- An OpenAI IPO delay would defer monetisation of SoftBank’s reported 13 percent stake.
What's Happening
- Shares are down around 30 percent from a June peak after reports an OpenAI listing could slip.
- SoftBank last week secured an $11.87 billion loan to bolster its OpenAI investment, Bloomberg reported.
- Daiwa strategist Yugo Tsuboi said markets worry OpenAI’s value may be lower than once expected.
How SoftBank Is Funding AI Bets
- Plans include a ¥1 trillion ($6.5 billion) retail bond issue and a $10 billion loan linked to OpenAI shares.
- SoftBank is paying down a $25.9 billion balance on a $40 billion OpenAI-linked debt facility by Tuesday.
- Founder Masayoshi Son has dismissed bubble talk as ignorant while financing robotics and data-centre deals.
all-news
