SoftBank has reported a $19 billion increase in the value of its Vision Fund for the quarter ending September 30, boosted by its investments in AI companies such as OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, and payments provider PayPay.
The Vision Fund’s results include operational costs and third-party investor impacts. Earlier in the fiscal year, the fund’s valuation rose by $4.8 billion, reflecting steady growth. SoftBank’s focus on artificial super intelligence and robotics has seen AI-related revenues soar, with an annualised growth rate of 93%. Its stake in OpenAI generated gains of approximately 2.157 trillion yen this quarter.
To attract a wider investor base, SoftBank announced a four-for-one stock split by the end of 2025. The firm posted a net profit of 2.502 trillion yen for the quarter, significantly exceeding the anticipated 206.89 billion yen and rising considerably from 1.18 trillion yen a year earlier. Revenue reached 1.92 trillion yen, slightly above expectations.
Despite strong earnings, SoftBank’s shares recently fell sharply due to concerns over an AI bubble, with its market capitalisation dropping $50 billion last week. Still, shares remain up over 140% this year amid recovery in its technology investments.
SoftBank approved the final portion of its $30 billion commitment to OpenAI, contingent on OpenAI restructuring as a for-profit entity by the end of this year. OpenAI has since completed its recapitalisation, creating a nonprofit parent company with control over its for-profit subsidiary, OpenAI Group PBC.
The company confirmed it will invest a further $22.5 billion into OpenAI through Vision Fund 2 in December, reaffirming its bet on AI innovation.