Hua Er Jie Jian Wen·2025-08-19 13:25Group 1 - SoftBank's founder Masayoshi Son has held multiple meetings with Intel's new CEO Lip-Bu Tan to discuss potential acquisition of Intel's foundry business, highlighting SoftBank's ambitions in AI infrastructure [1][2] - Intel's foundry business has struggled since its opening to external customers in 2021, with high costs and financial difficulties leading to warnings from the new CEO about possibly exiting advanced chip manufacturing [2][3] - The U.S. government is exploring the possibility of investing in Intel, which could support SoftBank's further investments, reflecting a shift in perception towards Tan's leadership [3] Group 2 - The potential acquisition aligns with SoftBank's strategy to build a comprehensive AI infrastructure, which includes robotics, energy, and chip manufacturing, with existing investments in OpenAI and NVIDIA [4] - SoftBank has previously attempted to negotiate with Intel for AI chip production, but those plans fell through due to Intel's inability to meet SoftBank's requirements [4] - Despite a recent drop in SoftBank's stock price, the company has seen a year-to-date increase of over 75%, as investors anticipate returns from its portfolio companies and the rising valuation of OpenAI [4]