Masayoshi Son, the 67-year-old founder of SoftBank, has built a legendary career on audacious technology bets—and now he’s positioning himself for what he calls the AI era. A new biography by former Financial Times editor Lionel Barber, titled “Gambling Man: The Wild Ride of Japan’s Masayoshi Son,” chronicles the billionaire’s journey from poverty in postwar Japan to becoming one of the world’s most influential technology investors, now worth nearly $17 billion.
Son’s career has been defined by spectacular highs and devastating lows. He briefly became the world’s richest person during the dot-com boom after early investments in Alibaba (a $20 million bet that paid off handsomely) and Yahoo. However, the 2000 dot-com crash left SoftBank “virtually broke,” forcing Son to work 18-hour days to rebuild through Japan’s broadband revolution. A crucial partnership with Steve Jobs gave SoftBank an exclusive carrier deal for the iPhone in Japan from 2008-2011, positioning him at the forefront of the smartphone revolution.
The Vision Fund, launched with nearly $100 billion in capital (including $60 billion from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala), represented Son’s boldest gamble yet. The fund disrupted Silicon Valley’s investment landscape, outbidding traditional venture capital firms on massive deals. However, it also led to spectacular failures: WeWork required a $9.5 billion bailout in 2019, Wirecard collapsed amid fraud allegations, and Greensill Capital forced a $1.5 billion write-down. SoftBank also sold its nearly 5% stake in Nvidia in 2019—a decision that looks particularly painful given the chip giant’s current $3 trillion valuation.
Despite these setbacks, Son has positioned himself as an AI obsessive long before the current generative AI boom. Since ChatGPT’s launch sparked an industry-wide AI arms race, Son has told shareholders that past investments were “just a warm-up” for the AI era. While SoftBank successfully IPO’d chip designer Arm in September 2023 and acquired AI chip firm Graphcore in July 2024, it has notably missed investments in leading AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. Barber believes Son is far from finished: “He’s definitely got another act. There’s no question.”
Key Quotes
This is a story of our times. The cheap money, leverage, technology — he’s ridden this wave right from when he started with software distribution, which has penetrated every aspect of society.
Lionel Barber, former Financial Times editor and author of the Son biography, explains why the SoftBank founder’s story resonates today. This observation connects Son’s career to broader economic trends that have enabled massive technology investments, including the current AI boom fueled by cheap capital and leverage.
He’s definitely got another act. There’s no question.
Barber’s assessment of Son’s future plans suggests the billionaire investor is preparing for another major push, likely focused on artificial intelligence. This comes after Son told shareholders in June that past investments were “just a warm-up” for the AI era, signaling potentially massive capital deployment ahead.
A blizzard of ideas followed by intense enthusiasm and focus, leading to overreach, failure, and repentance — until the whole process started over again.
Barber describes the cyclical pattern that has defined Son’s career, from the dot-com crash to the WeWork debacle. This pattern is particularly relevant as Son positions himself for major AI investments, raising questions about whether history will repeat itself in the current AI investment boom.
Our Take
Son’s positioning for the AI era represents both opportunity and risk for the industry. His track record shows he can identify transformative technologies early—he understood the potential of microprocessors, the internet, and smartphones before they became ubiquitous. However, his tendency toward overreach and susceptibility to charismatic founders like Adam Neumann raises concerns about how he’ll deploy capital in AI.
The timing is critical: while competitors invested in OpenAI and Anthropic, SoftBank has been relatively quiet, focusing on infrastructure plays like Arm and Graphcore. This could prove either prescient—betting on the picks-and-shovels of AI rather than individual model developers—or another missed opportunity like selling Nvidia. The industry should watch closely: when Son finally makes his move, it will likely be massive, potentially distorting valuations and competitive dynamics across the AI landscape. His next act could either cement his legacy as a technology visionary or add another chapter to his cycle of boom and bust.
Why This Matters
This profile of Masayoshi Son arrives at a pivotal moment for the AI industry. As the technology sector undergoes its most significant transformation since the internet revolution, Son’s track record offers crucial lessons about the risks and rewards of betting on emerging technologies. His Vision Fund fundamentally changed how startups are funded, injecting unprecedented capital into the tech ecosystem—a model that could repeat itself as AI companies seek massive investments to train increasingly sophisticated models.
Son’s history of being both visionary and reckless serves as a cautionary tale for the current AI investment frenzy. His early recognition of transformative technologies (microprocessors, internet, smartphones) demonstrates genuine foresight, yet his failures with WeWork and other overvalued companies highlight the dangers of hype-driven investing. As billions of dollars flow into AI startups, investors and entrepreneurs should note how Son’s “chip on every board” approach led to both extraordinary successes and catastrophic losses. With SoftBank signaling major AI investments ahead and controlling Arm—a critical player in AI chip architecture—Son’s next moves could significantly shape which AI companies dominate the emerging landscape.
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Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/masayoshi-son-softbank-gambling-man-lionel-barber-technology-2024-9