SoftBank
SoftBank Group Corp. is a Tokyo-listed strategic investment holding company (TYO:9984) operating telecom (SoftBank Corp.), semiconductor IP (Arm Holdings, Ampere, Graphcore), AI infrastructure (Stargate JV with OpenAI), and Vision Funds investing across global AI-focused growth companies, with FY2025 revenue of ¥7,038.7 billion.
- Company typePublic
- Founded1981
- HeadquartersTokyo, Japan
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What SoftBank does
SoftBank Group Corp. is a Tokyo-listed Japanese strategic investment holding company (TYO:9984) founded by Masayoshi Son in 1981, operating across five reporting segments: Investment Business of Holding Companies, SoftBank Vision Funds, SoftBank (telecom and digital services), AI Computing, and Others. The group controls core operating assets including a ~90% stake in Arm Holdings (semiconductor IP and chip design), wholly-owned Ampere Computing (Arm-based AI CPUs acquired for $6.5B in November 2025), Graphcore (AI accelerators), SoftBank Corp. (Japanese mobile/broadband), PayPay (mobile payments, Nasdaq-listed March 2026), LINE Yahoo (internet/e-commerce), and SB Energy (solar and data center developer). The SoftBank Vision Funds (SVF1, SVF2) and Latin America Fund deploy capital into AI-focused growth companies globally, with cumulative OpenAI exposure reaching ~$65B (over 20% of NAV).
SoftBank's technology stack spans semiconductor IP and chip design through Arm, AI compute via Ampere and Graphcore, large-scale AI infrastructure through the $500B Stargate JV with OpenAI and Oracle (targeting 7GW over four years, with an 800-acre Abilene, Texas complex), AI services delivered through the SB OAI Japan joint venture (including Patching as a Service cybersecurity launched June 2026 and Cristal intelligence), and next-generation robotics via SoftBank Robotics plus the pending $5.4B ABB robotics division acquisition. Core proprietary capabilities include the new Arm AGI CPU (March 2026), the Physical AI Plant concept, and energy infrastructure (SB Energy operates 2,130 MW of solar capacity with 1,180 MW under construction).
The business model combines recurring subscription revenue from Japanese telecom and PayPay (subscription, transaction fees), licensing royalties from Arm's IP business and Ampere/Graphcore chip sales to hyperscalers, capital gains and dividends from strategic equity holdings (Arm, OpenAI, T-Mobile, Intel), fair-value revaluations from the Vision Funds, managed services revenue from AI cybersecurity offerings, and energy/data center operations revenue from SB Energy. FY2025 consolidated operating revenue reached ¥7,038.7 billion (record high, up 7.6% YoY) with net profit of ¥550.8 billion (also a record). GTM channels include SoftBank Corp.'s direct enterprise sales force and consumer stores, PayPay's self-serve app distribution, Arm's global OEM/embedded IP licensing, and a dedicated SB OAI Japan cybersecurity sales team scaling toward 1,000 specialists targeting Japan's top 3,000 critical infrastructure operators.
SoftBank firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- SoftBank
- Legal name
- SoftBank Group Corp. (ソフトバンクグループ株式会社)
- Website
- https://group.softbank
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 1981
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- SoftBank Group Corp. is a Tokyo-listed strategic investment holding company (TYO:9984) operating telecom (SoftBank Corp.), semiconductor IP (Arm Holdings, Ampere, Graphcore), AI infrastructure (Stargate JV with OpenAI), and Vision Funds investing across global AI-focused growth companies, with FY2025 revenue of ¥7,038.7 billion.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
SoftBank industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Strategic Investment Holding Company
- NAICS
- Miscellaneous Financial Investment Activities (523999), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)
- SIC
- Miscellaneous Business Credit Institution (6159), Finance Services (6199)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Private Sector & Blended Finance Arms (IFC-type) (BPADACAJ)
Keywords
Where SoftBank is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tokyo
- HQ country
- Japan
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices10 records
Markets served
SoftBank business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others
Revenue model
- Telecommunications Services: Recurring revenue from mobile, broadband, and fixed-line subscription services offered through SoftBank Corp. in Japan, with AI infrastructure and AI service monetization layered on top under the 'Activate AI for Society' strategy.
- Mobile Payments and Finance: Transaction-based revenue from PayPay mobile payment services and PayPay Bank banking operations, as well as insurance via the T&D Financial Life acquisition (PayPay + SoftBank Corp.).
- Strategic Investment Gains: Capital gains and dividends from SoftBank Group's strategic equity investments in holdings such as Arm Holdings (~90% stake), OpenAI (~$65B committed), T-Mobile, Intel, and other operating and growth-stage companies. Returns are realized via asset sales, IPOs, and mark-to-market revaluations.
- Vision Fund Investment Returns: Returns from SVF1, SVF2, and LatAm Funds invested in AI-focused growth companies globally; realized via exits, IPOs, secondary sales, and ongoing fair-value revaluations.
- Semiconductor IP Licensing and Chip Sales: Revenue from Arm's IP licensing and chip design business, Ampere's CPU sales, and Graphcore's AI chip sales to OEMs, hyperscalers (AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure), and data center customers.
- Energy and Data Center Operations: Revenue from solar power generation operations (SB Energy Global, ~2,130MW operational capacity) and from the development/construction of data centers via Energy Global, LP and related entities.
- AI Cybersecurity Services: Managed service revenue from 'Patching as a Service' and related AI-driven cybersecurity offerings delivered through SB OAI Japan to Japanese enterprises and critical infrastructure operators.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels6 records
SoftBank product offering
Product offeringCore offering
SoftBank Group Corp. is a strategic investment holding company that deploys capital through direct investments and the SoftBank Vision Funds (SVF1, SVF2, LatAm Funds) into AI-focused growth companies globally. It operates Japanese mobile, broadband, and fixed-line telecommunications through SoftBank Corp., mobile payments and banking via PayPay, internet advertising and e-commerce via LINE Yahoo, and renewable energy generation and AI data center development via SB Energy. Its AI Computing Segment centers on Arm Holdings (semiconductor IP), Ampere Computing (Arm-based AI CPUs), and Graphcore (AI accelerators), with the AI Computing Segment positioned as the foundation of its AI strategy.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- SoftBank Vision Fund: Vision Fund 1 and Vision Fund 2 — investment funds targeting AI-driven growth companies and platform businesses, launched in 2017 with Vision Fund 2 added in 2019.
- SoftBank Latin America Fund (LatAm Funds)
- SB Energy
- Pepper
- SB OpenAI Japan (SB OAI Japan)
- Patching as a Service
Products and services
- SoftBank Vision Fund 1 (SVF1)
- SoftBank Vision Fund 2 (SVF2)
- SoftBank Latin America Fund
- SoftBank Corp. Mobile and Broadband Services
- PayPay Mobile Payment Service
- PayPay Bank
- LINE Yahoo Internet Services and E-Commerce
- Arm Semiconductor IP and Chip Design
- Ampere Computing Arm-based AI CPUs
Companies that use SoftBank
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
SoftBank technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
AI capability7 records
Feature6 records
SoftBank partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
27 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.
- Hyundai Robotics and AI Institute (RAI)coreHyundai considering swap of its U.S. AI research arm (RAI, founded 2022 with $400M+ funding) for SoftBank's remaining 9.65% stake in Boston Dynamics, giving SoftBank direct ownership of an AI/robotics research platform.
- Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO)coreSoftBank exploring capital tie-up (via SoftBank Corp. telecom unit) for ¥759B ($4.6B) TEPCO stake; one of 5 shortlisted parties (alongside Japan Industrial Partners, Blackstone, Apollo, Bain/KKR consortium); up to ¥1 trillion capital infusion to support AI data center power needs and TEPCO's Fukushima Dai-Ichi decommissioning.
- Japan Industrial Partners (JIP)coreOne of the parties in the five-party TEPCO capital tie-up discussions including SoftBank, KKR, Blackstone, and other foreign investment entities.
- AI Infrastructure Partnership (AIP)coreBlackRock-backed AI Infrastructure Partnership (AIP) cited as co-bidder (along with Brookfield, IFM, KKR, DigitalBridge/SoftBank) for Stack Infrastructure's Asia-Pacific data center assets.
- ABB Ltd.flagshipSoftBank recently agreed to acquire ABB's robotics division for approximately $5.4 billion to become the world's #1 in robotics; targets completion within the year to scale the 'Physical AI Plant' where robots manufacture robots.
- Vantage Data CenterscoreVantage Data Centers is part of DigitalBridge's portfolio assets that SoftBank will acquire through the $4 billion DigitalBridge acquisition, including stakes in AtlasEdge, digital infrastructure lending, and venture capital businesses.
- AtlasEdgecoreAtlasEdge is another DigitalBridge portfolio asset being acquired by SoftBank through the $4 billion DigitalBridge acquisition, focused on edge computing infrastructure.
- ArcLight Capital PartnersminorDigitalBridge announced a $1.1 billion acquisition of power infrastructure developer ArcLight Capital to secure electricity supplies for data centers; relevant to SoftBank as DigitalBridge acquirer.
- NvidiaflagshipStrategic investor in OpenAI (with SoftBank) and 5% equity holder in Intel (1.73% held by SoftBank); supplies hardware and extends financial guarantees for OpenAI's Ohio lease obligations and SB Energy's project financing for the 10-gigawatt AI data center campus (~$500B full build-out).
- KKR & Co.coreNamed suitor alongside SoftBank, JIP, Blackstone, and Bain Capital in the TEPCO capital tie-up shortlist; SoftBank and KKR are jointly engaging in TEPCO discussions.
- Hyundai Motor GroupcoreHyundai Motor Group acquiring SoftBank's remaining 9.65% stake in Boston Dynamics for $325 million (expected June 22, 2026 board approval), giving Hyundai full ownership. SoftBank exiting the Boston Dynamics investment via exercise of put option from the 2021 sale.
- T-Mobile USflagshipPart of SoftBank Group's strategic holdings portfolio. SoftBank originally acquired Sprint (US) and merged it with T-Mobile in 2020; SoftBank holds a stake in T-Mobile as a key portfolio investment.
- Stack Infrastructure Inc.minorStack Infrastructure exploring sale of Asia-Pacific data center assets; potential bidders include AI Infrastructure Partnership, Brookfield, IFM, KKR, and DigitalBridge (SoftBank acquiring).
- Schneider ElectriccoreStrategic technology partner in SoftBank's €75 billion AI infrastructure investment in France; collaboration with Foxconn to deliver integrated AI infrastructure solutions; Schneider Electric's SE Ventures €1B fund hosted investors in Paris during VivaTech 2026.
- Foxconn (Hon Hai)coreCo-collaboration with Schneider Electric to deliver integrated AI infrastructure solutions in support of SoftBank's €75B French AI infrastructure commitment.
- SestercecoreJoint development partner with SoftBank Group for a 1GW AI data center in Bosquel, France (part of broader €75B French AI infrastructure commitment).
- Portsmouth Consortium (US-Japan Strategic Investment Initiative)coreSoftBank Group joined the 'Portsmouth Consortium' (March 2026) as part of a US-Japan strategic investment initiative launched with groundbreaking at the PORTS Technology Campus.
- DigitalBridge Group, Inc.flagshipDefinitive agreement to acquire DigitalBridge for ~$4 billion in cash ($16.00/share, 15% premium) announced December 29, 2025; DigitalBridge is a leading global alternative asset manager specializing in digital infrastructure including data centers and fiber networks ($108B AUM); expected to close second half of 2026 subject to regulatory approvals. Strategic move to strengthen AI infrastructure capabilities.
- Ampere Computing Holdings LLCflagshipSoftBank completed $6.5 billion acquisition of U.S.-based Arm-based AI CPU designer Ampere Computing via subsidiary Silver Bands 6 in November 2025; Ampere now operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary under the AI Computing segment.
- Silver Bands 6 (SoftBank subsidiary)coreSoftBank subsidiary used as the acquisition vehicle for the $6.5 billion Ampere Computing acquisition.
- OpenAIflagshipSoftBank is one of OpenAI's largest backers with cumulative committed investment reaching $64.6 billion by end of 2026, anchored by the Stargate joint venture ($500B over 4 years targeting 7GW). Partners in SB OAI Japan JV (established November 2025) and the launch of Patching as a Service cybersecurity offering in Japan. SoftBank also committed an additional $30B follow-on investment in March 2026.
- SB OAI Japan GKflagshipJoint venture between SoftBank Corp. and OpenAI (established November 2025) used to market AI products including the Patching as a Service cybersecurity solution exclusively to the Japanese market.
- Arm Holdings plcflagshipSoftBank Group owns approximately 86.39% of Arm Holdings (Japanese reports) to ~90% controlling stake; Arm is the cornerstone of SoftBank's AI Computing segment and provides the IP foundation for chips across smartphones, data center servers, IoT, and automotive markets. Arm launched its first proprietary silicon chip (Arm AGI CPU) in March 2026.
- Macron / French Government / Choose FranceflagshipSoftBank committed up to €75 billion in French AI and data center projects at the Choose France summit (May 2025); €93 billion total foreign AI investment pledges secured at the summit. Macron used the G7 summit in Évian to position France as Europe's AI hub leveraging SoftBank's commitment.
- Microsoft CorporationflagshipStrategic investor in OpenAI alongside SoftBank; partner in the Stargate AI infrastructure joint venture; major Azure customer of Arm-based silicon (Microsoft Cobalt).
- Graphcore LimitedcoreSoftBank's AI Computing segment subsidiary Graphcore designs AI-specialized semiconductor chips; contributes to SoftBank's full-stack AI compute platform alongside Arm and Ampere.
- OracleflagshipPartner in the Stargate joint venture with OpenAI and SoftBank for $500B U.S. AI infrastructure build-out; 800-acre Abilene TX data center complex already training models like GPT-5.5.
Scale indicators21 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights7 records
SoftBank competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Berkshire Hathaway: Diversified strategic holding company with a large equity investment portfolio and wholly-owned operating subsidiaries; most direct analog to SoftBank Group's holding-company + operating-subsidiary + investment-fund hybrid model.
- Naspers / Prosus: Global internet and technology investment holding company with controlling stakes in listed and private tech assets (e.g., Tencent historically); directly comparable to SoftBank's Vision Fund-style growth-stage tech investment thesis.
- Tencent Holdings: Chinese tech conglomerate combining social, gaming, payments and cloud with a deep strategic investment portfolio in global tech; comparable in scale, diversification and ability to deploy patient capital across AI-adjacent sectors.
- CK Hutchison Holdings: Hong Kong-based diversified conglomerate with telecom, retail, infrastructure and tech investment operations; mirrors SoftBank's combination of telecom subsidiaries (SoftBank Corp.) and global investment activities.
- Reliance Industries: Indian conglomerate combining traditional businesses (energy, retail, telecom) with aggressive AI and digital investments (Jio Platforms); similar conglomerate scale, capital deployment intensity and AI-forward strategic pivot.
Broad incumbents
- Alphabet (Google): Hyperscaler using Arm Neoverse V2-based custom silicon (Google Axion) and an AI compute customer of SoftBank's ecosystem; competes with Stargate-class infrastructure buildouts and is a parallel AI platform incumbent.
- Microsoft Corporation: Co-investor in OpenAI alongside SoftBank and a Stargate JV partner via Azure; deploys Arm-based custom silicon (Cobalt) at scale and is the most direct US hyperscaler counterpart to SoftBank's AI compute strategy.
- Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF): Sovereign wealth fund deploying tens of billions into AI and tech (e.g., backing Lucid, multiple AI startups); broadly comparable patient-capital AI thesis to SoftBank Vision Funds but on a sovereign balance sheet.
Others
- Mubadala Investment Company: Abu Dhabi sovereign investor with significant AI, semiconductor and global tech holdings; comparable as a long-horizon capital pool that competes with Vision Funds for late-stage AI deals.
Emerging players
- Nvidia Corporation: Strategic supplier and financial guarantor of OpenAI's lease obligations and SB Energy's Stargate project financing; functionally a critical infrastructure partner to SoftBank's AI compute buildout, though it operates a fundamentally different business model.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
SoftBank social profiles
Digital presenceSoftBank compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance7 records
SoftBank financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
SoftBank leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles13 records
SoftBank subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries24 records
SoftBank funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds8 records
Investors21 records
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SoftBank M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A15 records
Investments383 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about SoftBank
What does SoftBank do?
SoftBank Group Corp. is a strategic investment holding company that deploys capital through direct investments and the SoftBank Vision Funds (SVF1, SVF2, LatAm Funds) into AI-focused growth companies globally. It operates Japanese mobile, broadband, and fixed-line telecommunications through SoftBank Corp., mobile payments and banking via PayPay, internet advertising and e-commerce via LINE Yahoo, and renewable energy generation and AI data center development via SB Energy. Its AI Computing Segment centers on Arm Holdings (semiconductor IP), Ampere Computing (Arm-based AI CPUs), and Graphcore (AI accelerators), with the AI Computing Segment positioned as the foundation of its AI strategy.
Is SoftBank a public or private company?
SoftBank is a public company. It is classified as public and is currently operating.
When was SoftBank founded?
SoftBank was founded in 1981. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is SoftBank based?
SoftBank is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, in the Asia region.
How does SoftBank make money?
Seven revenue lines are on record. Telecommunications Services are the primary driver. The others are mobile Payments and Finance, strategic Investment Gains, vision Fund Investment Returns, semiconductor IP Licensing and Chip Sales, energy and Data Center Operations and AI Cybersecurity Services.
Who are SoftBank's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Berkshire Hathaway, Naspers / Prosus, Tencent Holdings, CK Hutchison Holdings and Reliance Industries. Broad incumbents are Alphabet (Google), Microsoft Corporation and Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF). Mubadala Investment Company is listed as an others. Nvidia Corporation is listed as an emerging player.
Does SoftBank have an API?
No public API is recorded for SoftBank.
What industry is SoftBank in?
SoftBank's product category is Strategic Investment Holding Company. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPADACAJ, Private Sector & Blended Finance Arms (IFC-type). Its NAICS code is 523999 and its SIC code is 6159.