SoftBank stock rises on CEO's plan for $100 billion chip project

Tokyo: SoftBank Group's stock rose as founder Masayoshi Son considers the creation of a $100 billion chip venture that would supply AI-enabling semiconductors.

Shares in the Tokyo-based tech investor gained as much as 3.2% after Bloomberg News reported the 66-year-old billionaire is seeking funding for a foray into AI chips to compete with Nvidia Corp. The project, code-named Izanagi, would is aimed at building an AI chip venture that would complement Arm Holdings Plc, the chip design company in which SoftBank holds a majority stake.

In one scenario Son is considering, SoftBank would provide $30 billion, with $70 billion possibly coming from institutions in the Middle East, one of the people said. If he succeeds, the chip project would dwarf not just Microsoft's bet on OpenAI, but would comprise roughly a fifth of the global semiconductor market. Named after the Japanese god of creation and life, the project reflects Son's unfettered enthusiasm for the coming of artificial general intelligence.