Woofun AI reports that Masayoshi Son, the founder of SoftBank, delivered a definitive address at the company's annual general meeting of shareholders, asserting that the current artificial intelligence investment surge is not a bubble and outlining a strategic roadmap to achieve a net asset value of 1,000 trillion yen over the next ten years. During these consecutive sessions held on Tuesday and Wednesday, Son confirmed that SoftBank has initiated mass production of robots and explicitly challenged the viability of orbital data centers, a concept championed by Elon Musk, labeling such space-based initiatives as possessing limited economic value. These declarations immediately influenced market sentiment, reinforcing the trajectory that had already propelled SoftBank's stock price to record highs this month following its strategic investments in OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, and Arm Holdings, a leading chip designer. Despite the volatility inherent in the AI sector, which presents a double-edged sword for investors, Son maintained an unwavering stance, admitting that while some shareholders expressed skepticism regarding the company's valuation, he remained '100% certain, without any doubt' about the long-term trajectory. He further declared that he has no intention of retiring and plans to lead the organization until he reaches the age of 70, driven by a singular mission to realize 'artificial superintelligence,' a system he defines as being 10,000 times smarter than human capabilities.

Per Woofun AI, the Tokyo-based annual general meeting served as the stage for Son to articulate this ambitious long-term goal of reaching a net asset value of 1,000 trillion yen within the coming decade. He acknowledged the audacious nature of this target but emphasized that SoftBank has a historical track record of creating value, comparing the conglomerate to a 'goose that lays golden eggs.' Son elaborated on this metaphor by stating, 'It's not the eggs that hatch more eggs; it's the goose that lays them. The SoftBank Group is that egg-laying factory.' He expressed frustration over the significant discount currently existing between the company's market capitalization of approximately 37 trillion yen and its total assets of 74 trillion yen, questioning how much longer he must work to convince the market that this 'goose is doing very well.' Son indicated that he has become 'more ambitious' and aims to achieve something monumental within the next 10 to 15 years, while simultaneously pledging to maintain his health to sustain this leadership. He firmly rejected any narrative suggesting an AI bubble, declaring, 'If you call it a bubble, I think that's blasphemy against AI. This is just the beginning; the potential of AI is yet to be fully realized.'

The deeper driver of this strategy involves a shift toward physical implementation, as Son revealed that SoftBank has commenced manufacturing robots in its 'physical AI factory' and plans to issue an official announcement regarding this milestone soon. He asserted, 'I believe we are the first company in the world to mass-produce robots using this approach,' though he withheld specific technical details. Son posited that as the global industry transitions toward 'physical AI superintelligence,' the primary bottlenecks have shifted from model design to the critical infrastructure requirements of chips, power supply, and data center capacity needed to support large-scale advanced systems. This perspective aligns directly with SoftBank's strategic pivot to become a leading robotics company. Regarding its key assets, Son highlighted that Arm Holdings' decision to begin self-producing chips has driven the company's valuation to approximately 391 billion US dollars. As AI computing evolves toward processor-centric architectures, Arm Holdings possesses the potential to become one of the most important central processing unit suppliers globally, leaving room for its valuation to increase by 'more than ten times,' with SoftBank currently holding nearly 90% of Arm Holdings' shares.

Woofun AI notes that Son also defended the controversial investment in Intel, stating that SoftBank's initial 2 billion US dollar investment had appreciated significantly due to shifts in U.S. national security priorities and new partnerships between Intel and companies like NVIDIA and Apple. He argued, 'The United States had no choice but to strengthen Intel,' framing the investment as a strategic necessity rather than a speculative risk. In the realm of data center infrastructure, Son disclosed that SoftBank was finalizing a letter of intent for the development of a data center in Ohio. Although he did not disclose the client's name, he indicated that this project was expected to generate 'huge' profits. He further mentioned that additional projects are underway in regions including Texas, France, and Japan. In Japan, Son confirmed that SoftBank remains a strong candidate for assisting Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) in attracting external capital to build AI data centers, stating, 'If TEPCO joins us, we will increase power supply capacity and bring AI data centers to Japan.' However, he warned that Japan's cumbersome regulatory processes are struggling to keep pace with the rapid development of AI technology.

Additionally, he stated that the 'Stargate' AI infrastructure project, involving SoftBank, OpenAI, Oracle, and other parties, would continue to expand and grow in line with global demand for AI infrastructure, though he provided no further details on its specific progress.

Son clearly expressed his disapproval of the concept of building data centers in space, directly addressing the ideas promoted by Elon Musk during a shareholder meeting for SoftBank's mobile business unit. He responded to inquiries by stating that while the main advantage of orbital data centers is their lower power costs, electricity expenses account for a very small portion of the total operating expenses of data centers compared to hardware such as chips.

Moreover, he argued that the higher costs associated with transporting equipment into space, maintenance expenses, and communication delays would completely offset any savings derived from reduced power costs. While he called Elon Musk an 'outstanding innovator,' Son emphasized that SoftBank would focus on building 'powerful' data center capacity on Earth, asserting, 'The first to act wins.' According to Bloomberg, both SpaceX under Elon Musk and Blue Origin under Jeff Bezos have announced plans to build and launch orbital data centers to address energy and space constraints on Earth.

However, Son held a different view, believing that 'the competition in the next few years is far more critical than what will happen in ten years.' This marks a definitive divergence in strategic philosophy between terrestrial infrastructure expansion and speculative space-based solutions, signaling that SoftBank will prioritize immediate, scalable capacity over long-term, high-risk orbital ventures.