SoftBank Group Corp. CEO Masayoshi Son said Wednesday the company will "mount a counteroffensive" after posting a massive net loss for the second straight year in fiscal 2022, vowing to pursue growth that utilizes the rising popularity of artificial intelligence.
Son said the Japanese investment and technology giant is now ready to tap into 5 trillion yen ($35 billion) of cash reserves after cutting back on new investment in recent years to cope with worsening market conditions.
"An artificial intelligence revolution is about to explode," Son said at the company's annual shareholders' meeting in Tokyo, citing the recent popularity of ChatGPT, a generative AI chatbot developed by U.S.-based OpenAI.
Son said Arm Ltd., SoftBank's British subsidiary that designs chips for various products from smartphones to cars worldwide, will play a key role in "the AI revolution" that is about to occur. In the revolution, everything will be connected to AI, which will solve social problems and other issues in place of human beings, he said.
"Arm is a core company that accelerates the evolution of AI," Son said. "Arm is now standing at the starting line for explosive growth."
Son said he is currently focusing on coming up with various business ideas for utilizing AI, although he did not reveal specific details regarding how to achieve the planned growth.
Asked by a shareholder if he has any plan for his successor, Son said he does not want to retire soon because he is "so excited" at the prospect of AI. The succession will be "a little bit further down the road," he said.
Son had been keeping a low profile in recent months, after declaring at a press conference in November last year that he would focus on Arm, which he plans to list in the United States.
In his stead, Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto has hosted recent earnings press conferences, allowing Son more time to increase the corporate value of the British company.
The Japanese conglomerate, known for its Vision Fund investment unit, said in May it will consider investing more aggressively after posting a smaller net loss in fiscal 2022 compared with a year earlier.
In the year ended March, the company cut its net loss to 970.14 billion yen, compared with 1.71 trillion yen in the previous year.
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