Softbank Group Corp’s stock rose 1.5 percent to a new lifetime high yesterday, a vote of confidence in chairman and chief executive officer Masayoshi Son’s ambitions to ramp up investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors.
The Japanese tech investor is gaining investor attention as its telecom arm moves aggressively to invest in generative AI, tying up with Microsoft Corp and start-up Perplexity AI Inc and building data centers stocked with Nvidia Corp accelerators.
Softbank’s chip unit Arm Holdings PLC is also trying to position its architecture as a means to conserve energy in devices running AI.
Photo: Toru Hanai, Bloomberg
The rally is a vindication for Softbank founder Son, whose reputation has been tarnished by big start-up bets that cost the company billions of dollars in recent years. The company’s close ties with Nvidia and OpenAI have strengthened its position amid a global race to build AI-related infrastructure.
Shares of Softbank got a lift in part because the benchmark Nikkei 225’s recovery is expected to help the investment firm’s earnings, according to Tomoaki Kawasaki, a senior analyst at Iwaicosmo Securities Co. “It’s getting another boost as more investors see it as a semiconductor-related stock,” he said.
A darling of retail investors, Softbank shares remain volatile. During the dot-com boom and bust, the company lost 99 percent of its market capitalization, erasing US$70 billion of Son’s wealth.
The company regained ground through two decades of effort rolling out broadband networks in Japan, selling the country’s first Apple Inc iPhones and investments in some of the world’s biggest start-ups.
But its shares plunged again in 2021 in the wake of Beijing’s crackdown on tech firms and a flurry of missteps including investments in start-ups such as WeWork, Katerra Inc, OneWeb Ltd and Zume Pizza Inc.
The share rise has also lifted Son’s rhetoric, with the billionaire making more grandiose pronouncements about the future of AI. Recently, he told shareholders he was preparing to swing for the fences, in a move that will make his previous bets seem like “warmups.”
Taiwan’s technology protection rules prohibits Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) from producing 2-nanometer chips abroad, so the company must keep its most cutting-edge technology at home, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. Kuo made the remarks in response to concerns that TSMC might be forced to produce advanced 2-nanometer chips at its fabs in Arizona ahead of schedule after former US president Donald Trump was re-elected as the next US president on Tuesday. “Since Taiwan has related regulations to protect its own technologies, TSMC cannot produce 2-nanometer chips overseas currently,” Kuo said at a meeting of the legislature’s
Semiconductor shares in China surged yesterday after Reuters reported the US had ordered chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers, which investors believe could accelerate Beijing’s self-reliance efforts. TSMC yesterday started to suspend shipments of certain sophisticated chips to some Chinese clients after receiving a letter from the US Department of Commerce imposing export restrictions on those products, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed source. The US imposed export restrictions on TSMC’s 7-nanometer or more advanced designs, Reuters reported. Investors figured that would encourage authorities to support China’s industry and bought shares
TECH WAR CONTINUES: The suspension of TSMC AI chips and GPUs would be a heavy blow to China’s chip designers and would affect its competitive edge Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, is reportedly to halt supply of artificial intelligence (AI) chips and graphics processing units (GPUs) made on 7-nanometer or more advanced process technologies from next week in order to comply with US Department of Commerce rules. TSMC has sent e-mails to its Chinese AI customers, informing them about the suspension starting on Monday, Chinese online news outlet Ijiwei.com (愛集微) reported yesterday. The US Department of Commerce has not formally unveiled further semiconductor measures against China yet. “TSMC does not comment on market rumors. TSMC is a law-abiding company and we are
FLEXIBLE: Taiwan can develop its own ground station equipment, and has highly competitive manufacturers and suppliers with diversified production, the MOEA said The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday disputed reports that suppliers to US-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) had been asked to move production out of Taiwan. Reuters had reported on Tuesday last week that Elon Musk-owned SpaceX had asked their manufacturers to produce outside of Taiwan given geopolitical risks and that at least one Taiwanese supplier had been pushed to relocate production to Vietnam. SpaceX’s requests place a renewed focus on the contentious relationship Musk has had with Taiwan, especially after he said last year that Taiwan is an “integral part” of China, sparking sharp criticism from Taiwanese authorities. The ministry said
RSS