SoftBank’s untitled AI goose game — eggs do not lay eggs

Masayoshi Son is the founder and CEO of SoftBank, the giant Japanese private equity fund that’s the main backer and cheerleader of OpenAI. SoftBank was also the main backer of WeWork, which was almost as stupid as OpenAI. WeWork’s 2019 stock market offering failed spectacularly and SoftBank’s...

Masayoshi Son is the founder and CEO of SoftBank, the giant Japanese private equity fund that’s the main backer and cheerleader of OpenAI. SoftBank was also the main backer of WeWork, which was almost as stupid as OpenAI. WeWork’s 2019 stock market offering failed spectacularly and SoftBank’s investment went down 90%. WeWork still exists in 2026, but it’s a lot smaller. As well as the spectacular messes, SoftBank has a pile of quietly successful portfolio companies — like ARM, which designs the chips in all the phones, and makes a bundle. These pay for the messes. Son has a long track record of wild slides for investor events. SoftBank’s annual general meeting was on Wednesday. The internet saw the slides from this thing and went wild for the goose that lays the golden eggs. [SoftBank, PDF, archive] There are a pile of slides about artificial super-intelligence. And Physical Artificial Superintelligence, which means robots. Son talks up ARM Holdings a lot — Softbank is very proud of ARM. On page 45 of the PDF, the goose shows up. Sixteen years ago, Softbank had only three golden eggs. That’s a market cap of 3 trillion yen. The “market only saw the eggs.” It ignored the goose. But “eggs do not lay eggs.” It’s the goose! Value us!     There’s a golden egg factory inside the goose! If you look at the slide on page 56 of the PDF, you’ll see the goose is a robot with an “internal mechanism.” Also, the goose is labeled “ASI” — that’s “artificial superintelligence”. The golden eggs are “ASI” too. Son has long been fond of his golden goose. SoftBank’s 2014 earnings slides start with “SoftBank equals Goose”. Later on, Son includes the whole story of “The Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs”. [SoftBank, 2014, PDF, archive] Wednesday’s presentation for 2026 mostly hammers on Son’s love of AI. Son said: [Reuters] I think it’s blasphemy against AI if ‌you say it’s a bubble. SoftBank insiders said last month they were getting worried how deep in OpenAI SoftBank is. [Bloomberg, archive] News just came out that OpenAI might put off its IPO until 2027 — and SoftBank’s share price dropped 14%. [MarketWatch] Son is most annoyed that the market cap of SoftBank stock is half its claimed asset value. “The goose was not valued.” But the market isn’t just valuing the goose at zero — it’s giving it a huge penalty. Of course, SoftBank is not the goose that lays the golden eggs. ARM Holdings is the goose. SoftBank’s profitable companies are the geese. They’re what produces the golden eggs. SoftBank is the goose’s greedy owner. SoftBank takes the money from its successful companies like ARM and sets the money on fire at WeWork and now OpenAI. Son is making out he is the AI-powered golden goose. Praise him! Do not question him! But that’s not what’s happening here. SoftBank is not a golden goose, it’s not a factory, and it’s not a superintelligence. Also, “The Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs” is a cautionary fable about greed being bad. Video — Podcast

Source: Pivot to AI — Published June 26, 2026 at 21:08 UTC — Category: Business