The Intel wager: Billionaire Masayoshi Son puts 67% of SoftBank’s US portfolio behind an AI revival

Masayoshi Son has made one of his most concentrated single-stock bets in recent memory, with SoftBank Group directing 67% of its disclosed $18 billion US equity portfolio into Intel.

The investment, valued at $12.1 billion, is now the fund's largest US holding by a wide margin and reflects Son's conviction in the semiconductor company's artificial intelligence turnaround.

SoftBank disclosed the position in a 13F filing on August 14. The filing showed that it held 86,956,522 Intel shares valued at $12.14 billion as of June 30.


The next two largest holdings were Symbotic, at 9.85% or $1.79 billion, and T-Mobile US, at 9.23% or $1.68 billion.

SoftBank had already committed a $2 billion strategic investment in Intel, which closed in the third quarter of 2025, alongside a $5 billion equity investment from Nvidia.

The latest filing shows Son has increased his exposure, betting further on Intel's recovery.

Intel's growth strengthens the case

Intel reported revenue of $16.128 billion in the second quarter of fiscal 2026, an increase of 25.4% year over year and its strongest top-line growth in more than 15 years.

Non-GAAP earnings per share came in at $0.42, nearly double the $0.22 consensus estimate. Revenue from its Data Center and AI business rose 59% year over year to $6.262 billion.

Chief Executive Lip-Bu Tan described it as "the strongest revenue growth in more than 15 years" and said the company had exceeded financial expectations for the seventh consecutive quarter.

Tan also signalled his confidence in the company last week by purchasing 105,263 Intel shares at $95 each through a family trust. The $10 million open-market purchase was made at the same price as Intel's concurrent $20 billion secondary offering.

His beneficial Intel stake now exceeds 1.3 million shares.

Intel raises $20 billion

The $20 billion equity raise was priced at $95 per share for 210,526,315 new shares, after being increased from an initial $15 billion proposal.

The proceeds are supporting Intel's capital expenditure plans. Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner said spending would exceed $20 billion in 2026, with 2027 expected to be higher.

Management has said it does not commit capital ahead of customer commitments, making the scale of the planned investment a reflection of its order book.

SoftBank's position turns underwater

Between June 30 and August 14, Intel shares fell 26.59%, from $139.63 to $102.50. That left SoftBank's position underwater on a mark-to-market basis by the time the filing became public.

Despite the decline, Intel remains up more than 325% over the past year.

The stock surged after President Donald Trump said on social media on June 18 that Apple had agreed to partner with Intel to design and manufacture chips domestically.

Neither company has formally signed or finalised that arrangement, while analysts estimate that actual high-volume production of Apple chips remains two to three years away.