SoftBank's CEO claims superintelligence could arrive within two years after learning that AI is now building its own successor at OpenAI.
The machines are designing the machines now. That’s the takeaway from SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, who revealed on June 5 that an AI model is currently responsible for designing OpenAI’s next-generation model, a development he says points directly to the arrival of superintelligence.
Son made the claim during a CNBC interview, saying the insight came from direct conversations with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and the company’s engineers. His conclusion: superintelligence, the point at which AI surpasses human cognitive abilities across every domain, could arrive within two years.
Son has revised his timeline for superintelligence downward, meaning he now believes it will arrive sooner than he previously expected. For someone with $65 billion worth of skin in the game, that’s not an idle observation.
SoftBank’s massive OpenAI bet #
SoftBank plans to invest a total of $65 billion in OpenAI for a 13% stake. By the end of 2025, the company had already deployed $41 billion of that commitment, making it one of OpenAI’s most significant financial backers.
OpenAI now represents just over 20% of SoftBank’s net asset value. Son has described the current AI revolution as “50 times bigger” than the dot-com era. SoftBank’s shares have surged significantly in 2026, driven largely by investor enthusiasm for AI technologies and related infrastructure projects like Stargate AI.
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