After years of bruising losses, Son's massive AI bets have turned SoftBank into Japan's most valuable company and made him a favorite of world leaders.
There was a time, not long ago, when Masayoshi Son was crypto Twitter’s cautionary tale for billionaires. The SoftBank founder had watched tens of billions evaporate through a string of catastrophic bets, from WeWork to other Vision Fund disasters. The narrative was simple: the man who once owned a significant chunk of the internet had lost his touch.
That narrative is dead. SoftBank’s stock has surged roughly 73% year-to-date as of early June 2026, briefly overtaking Toyota to become Japan’s most valuable company. Son isn’t just back. He’s being courted by heads of state.
The France deal and the AI infrastructure play #
On May 30, 2026, SoftBank committed a staggering €75 billion, roughly $87 billion, to building AI data center capacity in France. The plan calls for 5 gigawatts of data center infrastructure, with 3.1 GW concentrated in the Hauts-de-France region, targeted for completion by 2031.
The market loved it. SoftBank’s stock closed 14% higher the day the France investment was announced.
Son himself has never been one for understatement. In a June 1 interview, he declared that the AI revolution is “more than 10x, probably 50x bigger than dot-com.”
The OpenAI and Arm connection #
The France data center play is just the most visible piece of a broader strategy. SoftBank has been pouring tens of billions of dollars into OpenAI, contributing to a valuation of approximately $840 billion for the AI lab behind ChatGPT. That stake alone has become one of the most valuable positions in all of tech investing.
Then there’s Arm Holdings, the chip design company that SoftBank took public in 2023 and still holds a dominant stake in. Arm’s architecture powers the vast majority of mobile devices on the planet, and its designs are increasingly critical for AI workloads.
These two holdings, OpenAI and Arm, form the twin engines of SoftBank’s recovery. One provides the software layer for the AI revolution. The other provides the hardware blueprint.
From pariah to power broker #
Son’s reputation took a brutal beating during the Vision Fund era. The WeWork debacle alone wiped out billions. By the early 2020s, Son had gone from being celebrated as Japan’s greatest entrepreneur to being mocked as a reckless gambler.
The AI pivot changed everything. SoftBank reported a $20.7 billion profit for the nine months ending December 2025, marking a significant recovery from previous financial distress.
The France deal didn’t happen in a vacuum. It was announced alongside meetings with senior French officials, reflecting the reality that countries are competing fiercely to attract AI infrastructure investment.
What this means for investors #
SoftBank’s rally is, at its core, a proxy bet on the AI infrastructure buildout. The $87 billion France commitment alone dwarfs the total venture funding flowing into blockchain companies this year.
The key variable to watch is execution. Son has committed enormous sums, but the 2031 timeline for the France project means years of capital expenditure before returns materialize. Investors should monitor SoftBank’s debt-to-equity ratio and cash flow from its Arm and OpenAI positions as leading indicators of whether this AI empire is being built on solid ground or shifting sand.
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