Sou Hu Cai Jing·2025-11-16 15:52Core Viewpoint - SoftBank's decision to sell all its shares in NVIDIA, amounting to $5.8 billion, has raised questions about its investment strategy, especially given the current AI boom and NVIDIA's record-high stock price [1][3][5] Group 1: Investment Decision - SoftBank completely liquidated its 32.1 million shares of NVIDIA in October, cashing out $5.8 billion, which was then redirected towards investments in OpenAI and a super data center project [1][3] - The management clarified that the sale was not due to a lack of confidence in NVIDIA's fundamentals but rather a necessity for capital allocation to support large-scale projects [3][5] Group 2: Market Dynamics - The AI industry is experiencing a dichotomy, with hardware manufacturers like NVIDIA thriving while platforms like OpenAI are rapidly increasing in valuation [5][7] - The hardware market, despite its current profitability, is expected to reach a ceiling, while platforms that control AI models can create a more sustainable ecosystem [7][9] Group 3: Strategic Shift - The sale of NVIDIA shares is viewed as a strategic repositioning from hardware investments to platform investments, reflecting a shift in SoftBank's long-term vision [7][13] - SoftBank's previous experience with NVIDIA, where it sold shares too early, has influenced its current approach, emphasizing the importance of owning core assets in the AI space [9][13] Group 4: Future Outlook - SoftBank aims to become a partner in the general intelligence era rather than just a shareholder in a hardware supplier, recognizing the growing importance of platforms like OpenAI [13][15] - The collaboration on the Stargate data center project is seen as a critical move to establish a comprehensive ecosystem that integrates chips, models, and infrastructure [15][17] Group 5: Competitive Advantage - SoftBank's strategy is to build a robust infrastructure for AI applications, which is perceived as having more long-term potential than merely holding stock in a chip manufacturer [17][19] - The company believes that controlling the AI infrastructure will provide a competitive edge, akin to building an electric grid rather than just selling generators [17][19]