SoftBank Group Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son said on Wednesday that the company aims to become the world’s leading force in the era of artificial superintelligence, while indicating that he intends to remain at the helm for the long term as it expands its AI business.
“I want the company to become the overwhelming global No. 1 provider in four areas,” Son said at the group’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Tokyo.
He identified those four focus areas as AI models, chips, infrastructure and robots.
SoftBank Group has been investing in U.S.-based OpenAI, the developer of the ChatGPT chatbot, with Son saying the company’s total investment in OpenAI is expected to reach $64.6 billion by October.
The group is also pressing ahead with plans to build data centres in the United States and Europe through heavy investment, while taking stakes in robotics firms to develop AI-powered robots.
“Our physical AI, or robots, has already started mass production,” Son said, adding that he hopes to make an official announcement soon.
SoftBank Corp., a subsidiary of SoftBank Group, is also negotiating a capital alliance with Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. Son said that if the deal goes through, the increased power capacity could make it possible to bring AI data centres to Japan.
Although Son had previously said he would step away from business in his 60s, the 68-year-old said he now plans to continue for another 10 to 15 years, stressing, “I have no time to retire.”
SoftBank Group’s net profit for the financial year ended March surged more than fourfold to 5 trillion yen, or about $31 billion, marking a record high.