SoftBank Group shares fell sharply in Tokyo on Tuesday, bucking the rebound seen across most technology stocks. The decline came as investors grew increasingly uneasy about the conglomerate’s large financial commitment to OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT.
SoftBank (TYO:9984) dropped 10% to end at a two-and-a-half-month low of 15,365 yen. The fall made it one of the heaviest drags on the Nikkei 225, which managed only a slight gain. The stock also significantly underperformed the broader Asian tech sector, which was supported by rising expectations for a U.S. rate cut in December.
The company’s shares have now fallen nearly 32% in the two weeks since it revealed it had sold its entire NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) stake to help finance a $40 billion investment in OpenAI. SoftBank also disclosed the sale of its T-Mobile US (NASDAQ: TMUS) holdings for the same purpose and said it would proceed with the investment even though OpenAI had not met certain performance milestones.
SoftBank is trading 44% below its late-October record high, pressured by a widespread pullback in technology valuations.
Concerns around the firm’s OpenAI exposure intensified after Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) launched a new version of its flagship AI model, Gemini 3. The model was viewed by many analysts as outperforming OpenAI’s offerings, increasing competitive pressure on the startup.
These worries have grown more serious given SoftBank’s deep partnership with OpenAI, including their joint involvement in a $500 billion project to build AI infrastructure in the United States. Analysts have questioned how OpenAI plans to meet its financial commitments, given its lack of profitability and ambitious spending targets.
OpenAI has outlined plans to spend more than $1 trillion over the next five years—an amount many see as unrealistic without heavy external support. Recent executive comments hinting at the need for government assistance have further fueled concerns.
Additionally, Nvidia’s recent earnings did little to calm fears over high AI valuations and the growing risk of circular funding within the sector.
Adding to the scrutiny, prominent investor Michael Burry—known for predicting the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis—recently accused OpenAI of being a “linchpin” in a network of circular financing across the AI industry.
