SoftBank, OpenAI Joint Venture In Japan Slips Behind Schedule, Target Date Pushed Back

Core Insights - SoftBank's joint venture with OpenAI, SB OpenAI Japan, is significantly delayed, with an expected update by November [1] - OpenAI is experiencing financial difficulties, struggling to meet a $300 million agreement with Oracle, raising concerns about its future [2] Financial Performance - SoftBank reported first-quarter net sales of 1.82 trillion yen ($12.54 billion), an increase from 1.70 trillion yen ($11.71 billion) a year earlier [3] - SoftBank's net income surged to 421.8 billion yen ($2.91 billion), recovering from a loss of 174.3 billion yen a year prior, with investment gains of 486.9 billion yen ($3.35 billion) primarily from Nvidia [5] Business Developments - SoftBank is making aggressive investments in AI, including a $40 billion round into OpenAI and a $6.5 billion acquisition of Ampere Computing [6] - The Vision Fund achieved a profit of 660.2 billion yen ($4.55 billion), significantly up from 32.4 billion yen a year ago, driven by rising share prices in companies like Coupang and Symbotic [5]