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SoftBank Pivots to AI, Abandons Consumer Investments
7 Aug
Summary
- SoftBank shifts focus to AI projects, away from consumer tech
- Elon Musk's xAI seeks $10B+ in funding, OpenAI raises $40B
- Meta buys 49% of Scale AI, hires CEO to lead AI division
As of August 8th, 2025, SoftBank is undergoing a significant strategic pivot, shifting its focus away from consumer discretionary and communications investments and towards massive artificial intelligence (AI) projects. This shift has dominated headlines in the tech industry over the past several months.
A flurry of major investments in AI startups and the supporting infrastructure has taken center stage. Elon Musk's AI company, xAI, is reportedly seeking to raise more than $10 billion in funding, while OpenAI's latest funding round has drawn $40 billion from investors, including Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. Meanwhile, Anthropic, another AI startup, is in talks with Qatar's sovereign wealth fund for a funding round that could value the company at a staggering $170 billion.
The AI race has also intensified among tech giants. Apple Inc. is reportedly considering acquiring a stake in Perplexity AI Inc., which recently closed a new funding round with a $14 billion valuation. This follows failed discussions between Apple and Meta Platforms Inc. Soon after, Meta announced it had acquired a 49% stake in Scale AI for $14.3 billion and hired Scale's CEO, Alexandr Wang, to lead its new internal AI division, Superintelligence Labs. Meta plans to continue aggressively investing in AI technology and talent.
