Masayoshi Son
Founder, chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group; chairman of Arm and Stargate LLC
The founder of SoftBank, who chairs Arm Holdings and Stargate LLC and is among the largest financiers of AI infrastructure.
Biography
Masayoshi Son is a Japanese entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist, founder, chairman and chief executive of SoftBank Group, a technology-focused investment holding company. He is also chairman of the UK-based chip designer Arm Holdings and of the US-based Stargate LLC. He founded SoftBank in 1981 as a software distributor and publisher.
He became widely known as an early internet investor, buying a share of Yahoo! in 1995 and putting $20 million into Alibaba, a stake that grew to about $75 billion by Alibaba's 2014 IPO. He is known for bold investment strategies, sometimes with major losses, notably through the first and second SoftBank Vision Funds. In January 2025 he joined Sam Altman of OpenAI and Larry Ellison of Oracle at the White House to announce the Stargate Project.
Notable contributions
Chairs Stargate LLC and Arm Holdings
Serves as chairman of Stargate LLC, the AI infrastructure venture, and of the chip designer Arm Holdings.
Announced the Stargate Project
In January 2025 joined Sam Altman and Larry Ellison at the White House to announce the Stargate Project.
Backed Alibaba early
His early $20 million investment in Alibaba grew to roughly $75 billion by its 2014 IPO, contributing significantly to SoftBank's financial success.