Message from Our Chief Risk Officer (CRO)—SoftBank Group Report 2025

In fiscal 2024, the pace of AI progress accelerated, while global uncertainties intensified. Ongoing events such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, unrest in the Middle East, and U.S.-China tensions contributed to a deteriorating international climate. In response, many governments introduced policy changes aimed at strengthening economic security, including export controls and tariff measures. As an organization that invests globally and whose portfolio companies operate across diverse countries and regions, SBG is exposed to geopolitical and regulatory risks. For example, with SVF now having more than 400 portfolio companies, rising geopolitical tensions could significantly impact these companies’ growth potential, profitability, and exit opportunities. In addition, as Arm derives a portion of its revenue from China, its business performance could be affected by export controls, sanctions, or tariff actions imposed by various countries.

In view of this situation, the Risk Management Office regularly communicates with government affairs teams in various countries to gather information. Such information includes developments of investment-related regulations that could affect our investment activities, export controls on semiconductors to China, and changes to sanctions or export control lists in the U.S. and elsewhere. The office also engages in discussions with key subsidiaries to help ensure early identification and timely monitoring of such risks across the Group.

AI made significant advances in fiscal 2024, and the competitive landscape has grown more intense. In this environment, we have been accelerating our investments toward realizing ASI. What may have stood out for many was the announcement of new initiatives in early 2025, particularly the Stargate Project, which involves building dedicated AI infrastructure for OpenAI in the U.S. Beyond that, we have also been investing in a variety of other areas. For example, we established SB TEMPUS to contribute to further advancements of Japan’s healthcare through the use of AI. We also made SBE Global, which constructs and operates solar power plants in the U.S., a subsidiary. In addition, we have invested in companies engaged in robotics, warehouse automation, and autonomous driving. These investments have contributed to the expansion of our portfolio as a strategic investment holding company.

The Risk Management Office monitors the performance of these portfolio companies, tracks SBG’s investment amounts and expected future payment, and gathers information on their business progress and challenges. A reporting structure is in place to ensure this information is regularly reported to our management. We plan to maintain a proactive investment stance in fiscal 2025. Our future investment scale, including follow-on investments in OpenAI, is expected to exceed that of recent years. As such, it will be important to identify a wide range of risks at an early stage—not only financial risks but also those related to the pace of AI technological advancement, the evolving competitive landscape, and regulatory changes. Acting independently from operating divisions, the Risk Management Office will continue to evaluate these risks from multiple perspectives to support efforts to realize ASI.