SoftBank Sells $5.8B NVIDIA Stake to Fund $40B OpenAI Deal
SoftBank Group Corp. sold $5.83B in NVIDIA shares in October 2025 to finance its record $40B investment in OpenAI. The divestment followed an earlier exit in 2019, reflecting SoftBank’s asset monetization strategy to free capital for AI and robotics. CFO Yoshimitsu Goto said the sale was a strategic necessity to fund $30B in equity and $10B in debt commitments to OpenAI. Phase one included a $10B equity infusion in April, with $22.5B slated for December after agreement adjustments.
To secure financing, SoftBank raised ¥620B via yen bonds, $4.2B in foreign loans, and arranged $8.5B of loans to OpenAI and $6.5B to ABB Robotics. The Vision Fund posted ¥3.54T ($23.4B) in profit, driven by OpenAI’s $260B preliminary valuation and contributing $14.3B to net profits of ¥2.924T ($19.3B). The NVIDIA divestment surprised markets following NVIDIA’s plan to invest $100B in OpenAI data centres. OpenAI’s October restructure into for-profit and non-profit units, and its $500B valuation, underscored SoftBank’s commitment to advancing artificial intelligence.
Neutral
SoftBank’s divestment of NVIDIA shares and its record investment in OpenAI focus on AI and robotics, with no direct link to cryptocurrencies or blockchain assets. Past major AI funding rounds, such as Microsoft’s investment in OpenAI in 2019, had minimal impact on crypto markets. Traders are unlikely to shift positions based on this news alone, resulting in a neutral outlook. In the short term, attention may stay on AI valuations, while long-term developments in AI-driven data centers and robotics could offer indirect support to crypto infrastructure without triggering notable market movements.