Softbank Group Corp shares continued their upward trend, building on gains from the previous trading session as market concerns over a potential bubble in artificial intelligence (AI) stocks temporarily subsided. On Thursday, the stock rose 3.9% in Tokyo to ¥16,895 (approximately $107.97), after climbing as much as 6.3% earlier in the session. The stock had gained 5.7% on Wednesday.
Semiconductor-related stocks broadly advanced on Thursday. Memory chipmaker Kioxia rose 6.5%, while chip-testing equipment manufacturer Advantest climbed 5.2%. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index increased by 1.3%.
Softbank Group had previously declined 44% from its late-October peak. The company faced pressure not only from market caution over the rapid surge in AI-related stocks but also from concerns that Google could gain an edge in the AI race with its newly launched Gemini 3 model, potentially outpacing OpenAI—a key unlisted portfolio company of Softbank. To date, Softbank has invested approximately $12.2 billion in OpenAI and plans to inject an additional $22.5 billion in December, bringing total investments to $34.7 billion. Softbank Group currently holds a market capitalization of around $154 billion.
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