Key Takeaways
- • Masayoshi Son abandoned his plan to retire in his 60s, telling SoftBank's annual shareholder meeting in Tokyo he will lead the group for another 10 to 15 years to pursue AI and robotics.
- • SoftBank has invested approximately $65 billion in OpenAI and committed hundreds of billions of dollars globally to data center buildout, according to the primary report.
- • Son rejected Elon Musk's concept of orbital data centers as having "little value," arguing AI competition will be decided by Earth-based computing resources.
- • SoftBank agreed to acquire ABB's robotics division for approximately $5.4 billion and is in preliminary talks to invest in Agile Robots' $800 million funding round.
- • SoftBank reported a record consolidated net profit above ¥5 trillion (about $31.0 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 2026.
Summary
SoftBank Group founder and CEO Masayoshi Son has scrapped his long-standing plan to retire in his 60s and hand leadership to the next generation. Speaking at the company's annual general meeting in Tokyo, the 68-year-old said, "I don't have time to retire yet," and indicated he would lead the group for at least another 10 to 15 years. He framed this period as critical to transforming SoftBank from an investment holding company into what he described as the world's leading AI robotics company. Market sources noted that Son had previously said he would hand over the business in his 60s and monitor it from behind the scenes.
The decision follows strong financial results. According to SoftBank's latest financial report, consolidated net profit for the fiscal year ended March 2026 surpassed ¥5 trillion (approximately $31.0 billion), an all-time record. The results reflect the group's heavy AI exposure, including its nearly 90% stake in chip designer Arm and approximately $65 billion committed to OpenAI. SoftBank has also poured hundreds of billions of dollars into global data center and related infrastructure.
Asked by a shareholder whether SoftBank would follow SpaceX in building orbital data centers, Son gave a negative answer. He praised Musk as a "remarkable agent of change" but called space-based data centers of "little value," arguing that launch costs for tens of thousands of tons of equipment are prohibitive, that electricity is a small share of operating costs relative to GPUs, and that maintenance and communication latency are significant drawbacks. Son said "the next few years are far more important than what might happen a decade from now" and that SoftBank intends to "strike first" by concentrating resources on competitive ground-based data centers.
SoftBank is also extending into physical AI. It has agreed to acquire ABB's robotics division for approximately $5.4 billion, is in preliminary talks to participate in robotics startup Agile Robots' $800 million funding round, and plans to establish a U.S. subsidiary, Roze, an AI and robotics company that it may seek to list as early as 2026 or 2027, according to people familiar with the matter. Son argued the AI industry remains early, with market growth potential of "tenfold or even a hundredfold." SoftBank Corp. President Junichi Miyakawa separately said the telecom unit, Japan's third-largest wireless carrier, is preparing to enter the U.S. market with computing power cloud services and data center energy storage batteries.
The decision follows strong financial results. According to SoftBank's latest financial report, consolidated net profit for the fiscal year ended March 2026 surpassed ¥5 trillion (approximately $31.0 billion), an all-time record. The results reflect the group's heavy AI exposure, including its nearly 90% stake in chip designer Arm and approximately $65 billion committed to OpenAI. SoftBank has also poured hundreds of billions of dollars into global data center and related infrastructure.
Asked by a shareholder whether SoftBank would follow SpaceX in building orbital data centers, Son gave a negative answer. He praised Musk as a "remarkable agent of change" but called space-based data centers of "little value," arguing that launch costs for tens of thousands of tons of equipment are prohibitive, that electricity is a small share of operating costs relative to GPUs, and that maintenance and communication latency are significant drawbacks. Son said "the next few years are far more important than what might happen a decade from now" and that SoftBank intends to "strike first" by concentrating resources on competitive ground-based data centers.
SoftBank is also extending into physical AI. It has agreed to acquire ABB's robotics division for approximately $5.4 billion, is in preliminary talks to participate in robotics startup Agile Robots' $800 million funding round, and plans to establish a U.S. subsidiary, Roze, an AI and robotics company that it may seek to list as early as 2026 or 2027, according to people familiar with the matter. Son argued the AI industry remains early, with market growth potential of "tenfold or even a hundredfold." SoftBank Corp. President Junichi Miyakawa separately said the telecom unit, Japan's third-largest wireless carrier, is preparing to enter the U.S. market with computing power cloud services and data center energy storage batteries.
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