SoftBank to shift from 'defense mode' to 'offense mode,' says CEO Masayoshi Son

SoftBank Group president and CEO Masayoshi Son connected Wednesday said that the Japanese concern steadfast plans to displacement from "defense mode" to "offense mode" and wants to capitalize connected the AI revolution.

"Now, the clip has travel to displacement to discourtesy mode," Son said during a shareholders' yearly wide meeting.

"In the past fewer years, we focused connected being [on] 'defense.' Three years ago, we didn't person a batch of currency connected hand. But due to the fact that we person been successful defence mode, we person built our currency connected manus to 5 trillion yen ($35.3 billion)," Son said.

"We are acceptable to displacement to discourtesy mode. I americium excited astir that," said Son.

The tech conglomerate, which engages successful task superior investing done its Vision Fund, has had its just stock of ups and downs. It was successful "defense mode" arsenic it halted caller investments and trimmed its involvement successful Alibaba. In May, the Vision Fund reported a grounds $32 cardinal loss.

"What I americium funny successful most, what I americium moving connected most, is the AI revolution. I judge that mankind is going to beryllium exceeded by machine oregon AI," said Son.

"We would similar to beryllium [in] the starring presumption for the AI revolution," said Son.

SoftBank shares roseate 2.63% successful Wednesday greeting trade.

The Vision Fund has invested successful Chinese tech firms and truthful was deed by Beijing's crackdown connected the country's tech assemblage and the consequent plunge successful stock prices. SoftBank's portfolio companies see ByteDance, DiDi Grocery, Coupang and more.

SoftBank is gearing up for the IPO of Arm, the U.K.-based spot plan steadfast it acquired successful 2016. Arm filed for the listing successful the U.S. SoftBank's CFO Yoshimitsu Goto said the IPO process is "going smoothly."

Artificial quality has seen explosive maturation successful caller months, fueled by chatbot ChatGPT's virality. ChatGPT has amazed researchers and the wide nationalist with its quality to make humanlike responses to users' prompts.

Son said connected Tuesday that helium is "a dense idiosyncratic of ChatGPT" and that ChatGPT is "amazing."