Acquisition would further expand SoftBank's investments in artificial intelligence as it tries to center itself in the boom SoftBank Group will acquire digital infrastructure investor DigitalBridge Group in a deal valued at $4bn, the companies said on Monday, as the Japanese investment firm looks to deepen its AI-related portfolio. The acquisition would expand SoftBank's exposure to digital infrastructure as the Japanese conglomerate is positioning its portfolio to focus on artificial intelligence. SoftBank's billionaire founder Masayoshi Son is seeking to capitalize on surging demand for the computing capacity that underpins artificial intelligence applications. DigitalBridge invests in digital infrastructure sectors such as datacenters, cell towers, fiber networks, small-cell systems and edge infrastructure, with a portfolio including companies such as Vantage Data Centers, Zayo, Switch and AtlasEdge. Founded in 1991 as real estate-focused Colony Capital, the firm pivoted under CEO Marc Ganzi into digital infrastructure and rebranded as DigitalBridge in 2021 after shedding most of its legacy property assets.

Masayoshi Son, chairman and chief executive officer of SoftBank Group, speaks during the Future Investment Initiative Institute Priority Asia conference in Tokyo on Monday. SoftBank Group is in talks to acquire DigitalBridge Group, a private equity firm that invests in assets such as data centers, as it seeks to take advantage of an AI-driven boom in digital infrastructure, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The Japanese conglomerate is negotiating a potential deal to buy New York-listed DigitalBridge and take it private, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is confidential. Shares of DigitalBridge have fallen 13% this year, giving the company a market value of about $1.8 billion. They rose as high as 35% on the news and were last trading at $12.63 at 10:40 a.m. in New York. SoftBank's billionaire founder Masayoshi Son is trying to capitalize on soaring demand for the computing capacity that underpins artificial intelligence applications.

Masayoshi Son, chairman and chief executive officer of SoftBank Group, speaks during the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute Priority Asia conference in Tokyo on Monday. SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son said he wouldn't have sold off Nvidia shares if his company had unlimited money to bankroll its next investments in artificial intelligence, which include a big bet on OpenAI. Son, addressing for the first time the surprise November disclosure that SoftBank had unloaded its entire stake in the world's most valuable company, also slammed talk of an AI investment bubble. The Japanese company simply needed to raise capital to fund projects including data center construction, he told a forum in Tokyo Monday. I don't want to sell a single share. I just had more need for money to invest in OpenAI" and other projects, Son said during the FII Priority Asia forum.

SoftBank sells Nvidia stake for $5.8 billion to fund AI bets SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son is aggressively seeking to capitalize on booming investment in AI and chips, even as he scales back other investments. SoftBank Group sold its entire stake in Nvidia for $5.83 billion to help bankroll artificial intelligence investments, even as investors question the amount of capital pouring into a technology with uncertain returns. Founder Masayoshi Son has been unwinding positions to pay for a plethora of AI projects, from Stargate data centers with OpenAI and Oracle to robot manufacturing sites in the United States. The Nvidia exit coincides with a growing debate about whether spending by big tech firms like Meta Platforms and Alphabet -- expected to surpass $1 trillion in coming years -- will produce commensurate returns. SoftBank's stock slid more than 10% in Tokyo on Wednesday, highlighting how investors remain nervous about lofty tech valuations.

SoftBank Group swung to a quarterly profit, riding on gains from its bets on Nvidia and startups in a boon for founder Masayoshi Son's bets on artificial intelligence technologies. A recovery at SoftBank's signature Vision Fund and the sale of assets such as its T-Mobile U.S. holdings are helping Son double down on bets geared to help him capitalize on booming investment in AI hardware. SoftBank, which had sold 4.8 billion worth of its stake in the U.S. telecom company in June, on Thursday revealed the sale of another 3 billion of the U.S. carrier's stock. The Tokyo-based company reported net income of 421.82 billion ( 2.9 billion) in its fiscal first quarter, more than double the average of analyst estimates. The Vision Fund logged a 451.39 billion profit, helped by a recovery in tech valuations and gains on holdings such as Coupang, Auto1 Group SE, Symbotic and Swiggy.

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son and OpenAI chief Sam Altman see insatiable demand for artificial intelligence (AI) that makes it imperative to keep building ever more computing capacity. Speaking via teleconference at SoftBank World, the two business partners argued that advancing AI would lead to new jobs that are not yet imagined, and the advancement of robotics will help kickstart a "self-improvement" loop. "As we drive the cost of AI down, more people want to use it," Altman said in response to Son's question about diminishing returns from further expansion. "So if we make the cost of AI 10 times cheaper, people wanna use it 30 times as much or whatever. And the demand for intelligence in the world just seems to be huge."

SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son has declared he's ready to swing for the fences when he makes his next big tech bet, suggesting the Japanese conglomerate is on the cusp of making a major investment in artificial intelligence. The billionaire has warned that his next big endeavor could be a big hit or a bad flop -- but that SoftBank has no choice but to try. That echoes SoftBank Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto's recent comments about the investment firm needing to take more risk, particularly as AI development accelerates. "We need to look for our next big move, without fear of whether it'll be a hit or miss," Son told SoftBank shareholders gathered for the wireless operator's annual meeting Thursday. He added that the company lost billions of dollars through its bet on WeWork.

Masayoshi Son, the billionaire boss of SoftBank Group Corp., has long presided over a quarterly earnings ritual of zany slide presentations. One included a goose laying multibillion-dollar golden eggs and another flock of unicorns flying upward along a chart of growth in artificial intelligence. Mr. Son is planning to step back from the routine when the giant technology investor delivers its earnings Friday, instead greeting attendees with short remarks before handing the baton to his chief financial officer, according to a SoftBank agenda for the event. It is slated to be a more sedate presentation than those from Mr. Son, who also isn't planning on taking questions from the media, according to people familiar with the company. The more subdued role--which is likely to continue, the people said--comes as Toyko-based SoftBank, the world's most active startup investor in recent years, is in the midst of a difficult run.

Masayoshi Son said he would begin to make personal investments alongside SoftBank Group Corp.'s Vision Fund, a controversial step that could lead to conflicts of interest as his company backs technology startups. The Japanese billionaire made the disclosure as his company reported earnings, explaining he will begin to co-invest in Vision Fund 2, an investment vehicle where SoftBank has been the sole source of capital. Son can invest up to $2.6 billion and will own 17.25% of the equity. He will have a similar arrangement with SoftBank's Latin America fund. Business leaders tend to avoid mixing their personal financial interests with corporate responsibilities.

TOKYO (Reuters) - SoftBank-backed cloud robotics and artificial intelligence startup CloudMinds is slashing its global workforce as it burns through cash after repeated attempts to list on the stock market, people familiar with the matter said. Headed by former China Mobile 0941.HK research whiz Bill Huang, money-losing CloudMinds is the latest SoftBank 9984.T portfolio company to lay off workers. The job cuts include in China, two sources said, where the bulk of the company's workforce is based and where it generates most of its revenues. All the sources declined to be identified because the information is not public. CloudMinds did not respond to requests for comment and a SoftBank representative declined to comment.