Why Masayoshi Son's Nvidia Exit Signals a Shifting AI Investment Strategy

The Valuation Picture Has Changed Dramatically

Nvidia’s recent compression in stock valuation tells an interesting story. As of mid-December, the chipmaker was trading at a 1-year forward price-to-earnings ratio of 24 — a level the company hadn’t reached since January’s downturn. The sell-off has been driven by several converging pressures: lingering concerns about AI bubble risks, Alphabet’s competing Tensor Processing Units, and intensified GPU competition from Advanced Micro Devices and custom chips from other tech giants.

Yet despite these headwinds, the broader market narrative has shifted. What was once seen as an outright sell signal now looks increasingly like an overshooting correction.

Inside SoftBank’s Bold Pivot

Here’s where things get revealing. Japanese investment titan Masayoshi Son recently offered clarity on a decision that caught many by surprise — SoftBank’s exit from its entire Nvidia position, which generated approximately $6 billion in proceeds last month.

Rather than signaling lost confidence, Son’s comments at Tokyo’s Future Investment Initiative summit revealed something quite different. Speaking candidly, the renowned investor expressed deep respect for Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and joked that he was “crying” over having to sell what he described as not wanting to part with “a single share.”

The emotional attachment tells you everything about how Son views the chipmaker fundamentally.

The Bigger Strategic Play

What actually drove the sale? Follow the capital flows. SoftBank is currently engaged in multiple massive AI infrastructure bets that demanded liquidity:

Project Stargate stands at the center — a $500 billion joint venture with Oracle and OpenAI to build U.S. AI infrastructure over four years. SoftBank alone committed up to $40 billion to OpenAI, with $22.5 billion expected by year-end.

Beyond that commitment, the conglomerate deployed $2 billion in Intel equity during August, followed by Nvidia’s own $5 billion investment in the chipmaker that September. The capital deployment didn’t stop there — SoftBank spent roughly $12 billion acquiring semiconductor designer Ampere Computing and ABB’s robotics unit.

The pattern is unmistakable: Masayoshi Son is diversifying across the entire AI ecosystem rather than concentrating bets on any single player. Chips, generative AI, data centers, CPUs, and robotics all received capital allocations.

The Compelling Case for Today’s Prices

Given current valuations, the investment logic becomes clearer. Nvidia remains exceptionally well-positioned to capture accelerating capital expenditure from hyperscalers and enterprise customers. Recent partnerships with Anthropic, Palantir Technologies, and Nokia expand the addressable market substantially.

While competitive pressures are real, the sell-off appears disproportionate to the company’s actual market position and growth trajectory. For investors with extended time horizons, the current environment presents a meaningful entry point before the infrastructure chapter of AI advances further.

The Masayoshi Son perspective ultimately reinforces this view — a visionary investor didn’t abandon Nvidia due to concern about its prospects, but rather reallocated capital to pursue an even broader strategic vision across multiple AI frontiers.