SoftBank Group (9984.T) CEO Masayoshi Son stated on Friday that the company’s mission is to advance humanity by realizing artificial super intelligence, which he believes will surpass human capabilities by a factor of 10,000.
“Everything SoftBank Group has done so far has been a warm-up for my grand vision of achieving artificial super intelligence,” Son told shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting.
Son, known for championing the transformative power of new technologies, has made his mark and fortune by betting on the spread of the internet and smartphones. During Friday’s meeting, he mentioned that the group is now focusing all efforts on integrating robotics with artificial intelligence for use in mass production, logistics, and autonomous driving.
Son’s vision for AI-powered robots will require “immense capital” and collaboration with partners, as SoftBank cannot fund the initiative alone.
Although Son’s reputation as a visionary investor was tarnished after many tech startups backed by the Vision Fund faced difficulties since 2021, some of his predictions, like the widespread adoption of “internet of things” technology, have yet to come true. However, the success of SoftBank’s subsidiary Arm, the British chip designer, following its public listing in September last year, has bolstered Son’s reputation as investors have flocked to firms associated with AI.
As Arm’s share price has risen, the gap between the value of SoftBank’s assets and its market capitalization has widened. Earlier in June, a source told Reuters that activist investor Elliott Management had built a stake worth over $2 billion in SoftBank and called for a $15 billion share buyback to boost its share price. Son stated that while SoftBank is always open to buying back its own shares, there are no current plans to do so.
