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Intel, once the world’s largest chip maker, has become the target of takeover speculation since a rapid deterioration of its business this year. Photo: Shutterstock

Intel rebuffs Arm after British firm asked to buy US chip maker’s product unit

In the high-level inquiry, Arm did not express interest in Intel’s manufacturing operations.

Indonesia capital move ‘far from ready’, as Widodo delays, Prabowo shifts

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SoftBank buys struggling UK chip start-up Graphcore in AI race

SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son aims to foster a new era of ‘super’ AI

Son sees a future when chips designed by SoftBank subsidiary Arm support a thriving ecosystem of robots and powerful data centres.

SoftBank Group Corp founder, chairman and chief executive Masayoshi Son, 66, says he wants to change the world before he leaves it for good. Photo: AFP

Japan’s SoftBank develops AI voice filter to make angry customers sound calm

The technology dramatically reduces the intonation of the angry comments, but retains enough to allow call-centre staff to respond appropriately.

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Tencent-backed QuantumPharm set to become Hong Kong’s second-biggest IPO of 2024

The retail tranche of QuantumPharm’s IPO has been oversubscribed 75 times, which will allow the AI drug firm to raise HK$1.13 billion (US$145 million).

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Nvidia’s rock-star CEO leads US chip bosses to Taiwan’s AI expo

Taiwan’s pre-eminence in semiconductors is at an all-time high, as the island welcomes Huang and the CEOs of AMD, Intel, Qualcomm and Arm Holdings to Computex 2024.

Nvidia founder Jensen Huang threw a ceremonial first pitch during Taiwanese Heritage Day before a baseball game in Oakland, California last Saturday. The CEO is currently on a visit to Taiwan for the island’s Computex tech expo. Photo: AP Photo

Softbank posts second quarter of profit as AI boom lifts Arm shares

The Tokyo-based company earned a better-than-expected net income in the March quarter, helped by investment gains.

Who are the 5 richest billionaires in Japan? Net worths, ranked

Japan is known for its innovative companies and whether they’re in fashion, technology or an industry in between, the CEOs of these forward-thinking firms are among the country’s richest residents

AI, yen are among hotspots to watch in Asia this earnings season

Asia looks ready to turn a corner in quarterly earnings growth this results season. Here are five key themes to watch as the report cards roll in over the next few weeks.

Pedestrians walk past a display showing the yen-US dollar exchange rate in Tokyo. The yen declined below the 153 level for the first time in 34 years on Monday. Photo: EPA-EFE

China added 1 unicorn per week despite weak global investments: report

Amid rising geopolitical tensions, most of the top 30 investors that invested in Chinese unicorns are based within the country.

Beijing-based ByteDance remains the world’s top unicorn. Photo: Bloomberg

How SoftBank-backed Firework aims to help Chinese merchants sell overseas

The emergence of technology providers like Firework coincides with a growing ‘direct-to-customer’ trend for Chinese merchants involved in cross-border e-commerce.

Saudi US$100 billion manufacturing fund invests in SoftBank, Dahua

The moves underscore Saudi Arabia’s commitment to transform itself from an oil-dependent economy to a powerhouse that makes money on everything from tech to metals, mining and tourism.

Apple’s operating chief makes rare Taiwan visit for Foxconn gala

Jeff Williams was a guest of honour at a gala celebrating the iPhone assembler’s 50th anniversary, also attended by SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and Arm boss Rene Haas.

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Apple COO Jeff Williams speaks to customers at the company’s store in Palo Alto, California. Photo: Bloomberg

SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son adds US$4 billion to his wealth on Arm’s 192% rally

The Japanese tycoon is currently worth US$15.1 billion, compared with US$11.3 billion at the end of last year. Son is benefiting from Arm’s rally because he owns roughly a third of SoftBank, which holds 90 per cent of the UK chip designer.

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has boosted his wealth on the back of a rally in UK chip designer Arm’s shares. Photo: Reuters

Japan’s SoftBank concludes run as Alibaba’s biggest shareholder

SoftBank expects to book US$8.5 billion, about 425 times the value of its initial Alibaba investment, for its 2024 financial year after divesting more than 500 million shares in the e-commerce giant.

Exclusive | Jack Ma, Joe Tsai replace SoftBank as Alibaba’s largest shareholders

The combined stakes of the two co-founders eclipsed SoftBank Group, which has reduced its shares in Alibaba through a series of forward contracts.

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ChatGPT CEO wants to raise billions of dollars to build AI chip plants

Sam Altman is concerned that as AI becomes more pervasive, there will not be enough chips for widespread deployment, sources say.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, last week. Photo: AFP

Arm laying off over 70 engineers in China amid cutbacks in chip industry

The British firm will offer new China-related roles to about 15 staff members as it cuts back amid China’s declining contribution to its global sales.

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Nearly all OpenAI staff threaten to go to Microsoft unless board quits

More than 700 of OpenAI's roughly 770 employees signed a letter, calling for all board members to resign and for fired CEO Sam Altman to be reinstated.

Ousted OpenAI CEO sought billions in Middle East for chip venture

Code-named Tigris, the project aimed to create an AI-focused chip company that could produce semiconductors rivalling those from Nvidia, sources say.

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Ousted OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photo: Getty Images via AFP

Arm forecasts third quarter below Wall Street on deal delay, shares dive 8%

Arm Holdings on Wednesday gave a third-quarter sales outlook below Wall Street estimates, with the firm attributing the forecast to a large deal that is likely to land later than expected.

The logo of Arm seen on a screen in front of a business webpage. Photo: Shutterstock

WeWork saga cost SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son US$11.5 billion and his credibility

Once valued at US$47 billion, WeWork’s plunge into bankruptcy damaged the professional reputation of SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son far beyond the US$11.5 billion he lost in the co-working office space start-up.

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WeWork, once most valuable US start-up, goes bankrupt

The company, which struggled to survive the Covid-19 pandemic and a derailed initial public offering, reported estimated assets and liabilities ranging from US$10 billion to US$50 billion.

WeWork plans to file for bankruptcy as early as next week: source

WeWork plans to file for bankruptcy as early as next week, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, as the SoftBank Group-backed company struggles with a massive debt pile and hefty losses.

The logo of WeWork is seen in the window of an office building in London on July 3, 2020. Photo: Reuters

Ex-SoftBank executive sets up UAE stablecoin pegged to dirham

Akshay Naheta, who pitched SoftBank on selling chip firm Arm to Nvidia, set up his stablecoin firm DTR in the emirate’s financial free zone in Abu Dhabi.

A former SoftBank executive is starting a new crypto company in the United Arab Emirates to create a stablecoin pegged to the dirham. Photo: Shutterstock

SoftBank’s Arm soars after successful IPO despite China risks

Investors rush to buy into the British chip designer despite its heavy exposure to heightened China-US tech tensions.

Founder of India’s Paytm open to buying more stakes from Ant Group

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, also CEO of Paytm, increased his stake at the firm after purchasing shares from Ant Group subsidiary Antfin amid broader concerns about Chinese ownership in Indian fintech firms.

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Softbank
SoftBank is a Japanese telecommunications and internet company with operations spanning broadband, fixed-line telecommunications, e-commerce, the internet, finance, media and marketing, and other businesses.<br />
Chairman / President
Masayoshi Son
CEO / Managing Director
Masayoshi Son
CFO / Finance Director
Yoshimitsu Goto
Industry
Conglomerate
Website
softbank.jp
Headquarters address
SoftBank Group Corp.,1-9-1 Higashi-Shimbashi,Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-7303,Japan
Stock Code
TSE:9984
Year founded
1981
last updated:
30 September, 2024
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