Nvidia 'undervalued'; saving funds to make 'next big move': SoftBank CEO

SoftBank Group Corp. CEO Masayoshi Son on Tuesday reiterated his conviction in the future of artificial super intelligence (ASI), predicting it could be achieved by 2035 with sufficient capital infusion. Speaking to an audience of business, technology, and finance leaders at a conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Son said ASI would be 10,000 times smarter than a human brain, but that it would require hundreds of billions of dollars in investment to bring to fruition.

Son, who has long advocated for the transformative potential of advanced technologies, indicated he is preparing to make substantial future investments. The billionaire tech entrepreneur from Japan said he is saving up funds "so I can make the next big move," but did not provide any details.

He also estimated that generative AI alone would require $900 trillion in cumulative capital expenditure for data centres and chips.

Even as NVIDIA stocks have rocketed over 240% in the past one year, Son said the stock was undervalued given the spending required to achieve artificial super intelligence.

The 66-year-old billionaire was reportedly seeking funding for a foray into AI chips to compete with Nvidia, according to Bloomberg News. The project would be aimed at building an AI chip venture that would complement Arm Holdings Plc.

Known for his early bets on mobile internet and e-commerce, Son’s record is a mixed one. His Vision Fund initiatives, which disrupted venture capital upon their 2017 launch, have struggled amid valuation declines in high-growth startups. As of June 2024, the Vision Funds were down $2.4 billion in aggregate, despite the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s (PIF) $45 billion backing of the original fund.