SoftBank cuts TSMC stake 71.5% as AI bets shift to OpenAI

SoftBank cut its TSMC ADR holdings by 71.5% in the second quarter, selling about 1.4 million shares for roughly $270 million.

The sale, disclosed in SoftBank's quarterly 13F filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, is the latest step in the Japanese conglomerate's shift away from direct stakes in AI hardware leaders. The filing, covering positions as of June 30, shows SoftBank also built a new position of about 277,000 Capital One shares worth $55.5 million and bought roughly 10,700 Life360 shares valued at $488,500. The TSMC proceeds far exceed the roughly $56 million deployed into the two new stakes, indicating the freed capital is being reserved for larger commitments.

The TSMC reduction follows SoftBank's October 2025 exit from all 32.1 million Nvidia shares for about $5.8 billion. That exit came after the firm had raised its Nvidia stake to roughly $3 billion as of March 2025, while also buying about $330 million of TSMC and $170 million of Oracle stock. At the time, the additions were seen as founder Masayoshi Son betting on AI infrastructure — Nvidia for compute chips, TSMC for advanced wafer manufacturing and Oracle for data-center and cloud demand.

SoftBank's moves reflect a broader reallocation from AI hardware toward AI platforms and models. The $5.8 billion Nvidia sale was directed partly toward OpenAI, which SoftBank has made a core investment target, alongside continued spending on robotics, autonomous driving and "physical AI" projects. The new Capital One stake, meanwhile, gives SoftBank exposure to consumer credit and payments, a departure from its concentrated AI hardware bets.

The reduction does not necessarily mean SoftBank has turned bearish on semiconductors. Rather, it shows Son freeing liquidity from mature listed AI hardware assets to fund higher-risk, strategically important AI ventures. The pattern — build a large stake, then exit within months — mirrors SoftBank's approach to Nvidia, where it accumulated a roughly $3 billion position in early 2025 before liquidating it entirely in October. For TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, the loss of a high-profile institutional holder comes as AI-driven demand keeps its advanced-node capacity sold out.

For holders, the direction is clear: SoftBank's direct exposure to AI chipmakers is shrinking as its capital flows toward AI platforms and models. The shift could weigh on sentiment for semiconductor hardware names, which have relied on institutional conviction to support elevated valuations. Investors will watch SoftBank's next 13F filing, due in November, for further shifts in its AI portfolio.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.