• Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Group ended 2025 with some significant AI-related investment and M&A moves
• It announced the planned $4bn acquisition of infrastructure asset manager DigitalBridge
• And it pumped another $22.5bn into OpenAI

There’s no sitting on the AI fence for Masayoshi Son, the founder, chairman and CEO of Japanese technology giant SoftBank Group (SBG), who is throwing the fiscal might of his significant empire behind major AI developments and infrastructure deployments in an effort to achieve its stated mission to “realise artificial super intelligence (ASI) for the advancement of humanity”.  

Son started 2025 at the Donald Trump-hosted press conference that unveiled The Stargate Project, a new venture that aims to invest $500bn in AI infrastructure in the US by the end of 2028. The other companies at the heart of the Stargate plans are OpenAI, Oracle and Abu Dhabi-based tech investment firm MGX – see Tech giants unveil $500bn AI investment plan in the US.

That eyebrow-raising announcement was followed in March by the news that SBG intended to invest up to $40bn in OpenAI (comprising $30bn of SBG funds and up to $10bn from co-investors) to add to the $2.2bn it had already invested in the San Francisco-based developer of ChatGPT through the SoftBank Vision Fund 2.  

As a reminder, the “rationale” for SBG’s massive investment in OpenAI is that the Sam Altman-led company is the “partner closest to achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI), a key milestone on the path to ASI… The advancement of OpenAI’s AI models is key to achieving AGI and ASI, and massive computing power is essential”, hence the announcement of The Stargate Project.

Son ended 2025 by announcing on 31 December that SBG had completed its investment in OpenAI by following up an initial $7.5bn cash injection with a further $22.5bn that was completed on 26 December, giving SBG (via the SoftBank Vision Fund 2) an 11% stake in OpenAI. In addition, SBG’s co-investors stumped up $11bn, taking the aggregate commitment via SBG to $41bn.   

Son stated: “We are deeply aligned with OpenAI’s vision of ensuring AGI benefits all of humanity.” 

OpenAI’s Altman added: “SoftBank saw the potential of AI early and committed with a deep belief in its impact on humanity. Their global leadership and scale help us move faster and bring advanced intelligence to the world.”

Will humanity be grateful? If AGI can bring some common sense to the world then maybe…

SBG also closed 2025 with a closely aligned M&A deal.

On 29 December, SBG officially announced what had long been anticipated – that it had struck a deal to acquire infrastructure asset manager DigitalBridge for $4bn ($16 per share) in cash. Speculation was rife in early December that a deal was imminent – see SoftBank preps AI-fuelled bid for DigitalBridge.

SBG noted that achieving its ASI mission “requires breakthroughs not only in AI models but also in the platform infrastructure needed to train, deploy and serve them at global scale”. The planned acquisition of DigitalBridge will “enhance SoftBank Group’s ability to originate, finance, operate and scale digital infrastructure opportunities worldwide. DigitalBridge’s diversified portfolio and investment capabilities will advance SoftBank Group’s priorities by helping secure critical capacity for AI at scale and strengthening the connectivity layer underpinning AI deployment and operations,” stated SBG.

DigitalBridge has about $108bn of assets under its management. The 45-plus companies through which it manages investments on behalf of its partners and shareholders include Vantage Data Centers, AtlasEdge Data Centres, Scala Data Centers and long-distance US and European network operator Zayo. 

Once the acquisition is completed (expected in the second half of this year), DigitalBridge will continue to operate as a “separately managed platform” led by its current CEO, Marc Ganzi. 

SBG’s Son noted: “As AI transforms industries worldwide, we need more compute, connectivity, power, and scalable infrastructure. DigitalBridge is a leader in digital infrastructure, and this acquisition will strengthen the foundation for next-generation AI datacentres, advance our vision to become a leading ASI platform provider, and help unlock breakthroughs that move humanity forward.”

DigitalBridge CEO Ganzi added: “The buildout of AI infrastructure represents one of the most significant investment opportunities of our generation. SoftBank shares our DNA as builders and long-term investors committed to scaling transformational digital infrastructure. Their vision, capital strength and global network will allow us to accelerate our mission with greater flexibility, invest with a longer-term horizon on behalf of our investors and better serve the world’s leading technology companies as they scale their AI ambitions.”

- Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV