SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son is seeking to raise up to 79.2 billion pounds ($100 billion) for a chip venture to rival Nvidia.
bloomberg A new project by a Japanese investment company will supply semiconductors essential for artificial intelligence (AI), it was reported. Mr. Son named the project after Izanagi, the Japanese god of creation and life, in part to incorporate the acronym for artificial general intelligence, people familiar with the matter said. .
Son aims to strengthen British semiconductor company Arm Holding’s chip design capabilities and develop the company into an AI chip powerhouse. SoftBank currently owns about 90% of Arm, having acquired the semiconductor company in 2016 for 25.3 billion pounds ($32 billion).
SoftBank could contribute 23 billion pounds ($30 billion), while 55 billion pounds ($70 billion) could come from unnamed Middle Eastern institutions.
Reuters SoftBank Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto emphasized the increasing importance of Arm in the field of AI, the report said. He called chip designers the “core core” of SoftBank Group companies.
Last week, Arm stock Rose 40% is fueled by AI optimism. Arm Holdings shares rose 21% to £110.85 ($139.65), hitting a high of £130.18 ($164), 42% above Friday’s closing price.
The semiconductor company’s stock has soared 80% since it beat Wall Street’s quarterly estimates. Arm’s market capitalization has soared to 111 billion pounds ($141 billion), nearly tripling since its September IPO.
arm in august applied In preparation for a listing on the Nasdaq stock exchange in what was expected to be one of the year’s biggest IPOs. No price was listed in the filing, but internal SoftBank transactions valued Arm at 50.6 billion pounds ($64 billion).
Arm said it expects the chip market to grow 6.8% annually through 2025. As the complexity of semiconductors required for smartphones and AI algorithms increases, the company is expected to further contribute to the value of each chip.
Image credit: Reuters
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