Humanity will catch up with AI, says the head of SoftBank

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son admits 'embarrassing' makes mistakes in investing in artificial intelligence, but expects some of them to turn a profit soon. Photo: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg

Artificial intelligence will overtake humanity, warned the chief executive of one of the world's largest investment funds.

Masayoshi Son, chief executive of SoftBank, said the technology investment fund that owns chip designer Cambridge Arm will pursue an aggressive AI-focused growth strategy despite reports of $27 billion in losses (21 billion pounds) earlier this year.

He said: “What interests me the most, what I work on the most, is the AI ​​revolution. I believe that computers or AI will surpass humanity.

“Over the past few years, we have focused on being [on] ‘defense’. Three years ago we didn't have cash. But since we were in defensive mode, we increased our cash to five trillion yen (£27.6 billion).”

Is AI moving too fast? Poll

SoftBank's fortunes are seen as a mirror of the global tech economy, with Mr. Son, known as the «Japanese Bill Gates,» as one of its key figures.

And yet, the fund's investment in new technology has led to extremely high losses for more than a year, raising questions about Mr. Son's leadership.

He addressed them by saying, “I have made many, many mistakes in my AI investments, some of them embarrassing. But among the many setbacks, there are a few buds that will bloom very soon.”

SoftBank acquired Arm, a Cambridge-headquartered computer chip designer, for £24bn in 2016. Arm must be included in the list. on the public markets later this year as part of the fund's push for growth.

However, Mr. Son denounced Rishi Sunak, ignoring government proposals and announcing plans to float Arm in New York instead of London. < /p>

The company is believed to be aiming for a $70 billion valuation of Arm, whose chips power most of the world's best smartphones.

If Arm doesn't appear on the list by September Previously this year, The Telegraph reported that it faces an $8.5 billion debt linked to SoftBank.

SoftBank took out massive loans against Arm shares last year and pledged a 75% stake in the Cambridge company as collateral . .

Market turmoil, including stubbornly high inflation, has pushed back Arm's planned listing from March this year.