SoftBank’s AI Portfolio: Startups Backed by the Vision Fund (2026 Tracker)
This tracker highlights SoftBank’s Vision Fund's biggest investments in foundation models, robotics, and deep tech AI companies.
Updated: June 2026
SoftBank has become one of the most aggressive AI investors in the world.
The Japanese technology and investment group, led by Masayoshi Son, is no longer just making startup bets through the Vision Fund. It is trying to assemble a full AI stack across frontier models, chips, data centers, robotics, energy, enterprise AI, and physical infrastructure.
That makes SoftBank’s AI portfolio different from a typical venture capital portfolio.
Sequoia and Thrive are investing in AI startups. Founders Fund is backing hard-tech AI and defense. SoftBank is attempting something bigger and riskier: building exposure to the entire AI economy.
This tracker follows publicly known AI and AI-adjacent companies backed, owned, acquired, or strategically supported by SoftBank.
SoftBank AI portfolio tracker
| Company | Category | Latest Known Funding / Signal | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI | Frontier AI / foundation models | SoftBank announced a $30B follow-on investment in 2026, bringing expected cumulative investment to $64.6B | OpenAI is the center of SoftBank’s AI strategy and one of the defining platform companies in the AI economy. |
| Arm | AI chips / semiconductor IP | Core SoftBank-controlled chip company | Arm is one of SoftBank’s most important AI assets, with its architecture used across mobile, cloud, edge, automotive, and AI computing markets. |
| Ampere Computing | AI CPUs / cloud infrastructure | SoftBank agreed to acquire Ampere for $6.5B | Ampere designs energy-efficient processors for cloud and AI workloads, strengthening SoftBank’s chip and data center strategy. |
| Graphcore | AI chips / accelerators | Wholly owned SoftBank subsidiary | Graphcore gives SoftBank another AI semiconductor asset focused on specialized chips for AI workloads. |
| ABB Robotics | Industrial robotics / physical AI | SoftBank agreed to acquire ABB’s Robotics division for $5.375B | ABB Robotics gives SoftBank a major global robotics platform and pushes the group deeper into physical AI. |
| SB Energy | AI data center power / energy infrastructure | OpenAI and SoftBank invested $500M each in 2026 to support Stargate infrastructure | SB Energy links SoftBank’s AI ambitions to power, data centers, and energy infrastructure. |
| Stargate Project | AI infrastructure / data centers | OpenAI, Oracle, SoftBank, and partners are building large-scale AI infrastructure | Stargate is SoftBank’s biggest AI infrastructure bet, focused on data centers and compute capacity for OpenAI and the broader AI buildout. |
| SB OpenAI Japan | Enterprise AI / AI agents | Joint venture between OpenAI and SoftBank | SB OpenAI Japan is designed to bring OpenAI-powered enterprise AI and “Cristal intelligence” to Japanese companies. |
| Roze AI | Robotics / AI data center construction | Reported SoftBank-backed robotics company focused on AI data center construction | Roze AI represents SoftBank’s push to use robotics to automate the physical construction of AI infrastructure. |
| Perplexity | AI search / answer engine | SoftBank-backed AI search company | Perplexity is one of the leading AI-native answer engines competing with traditional search behavior. |
| Tempus AI | Healthcare AI / precision medicine | SoftBank-backed healthcare AI company | Tempus applies AI to healthcare data, diagnostics, oncology, and precision medicine workflows. |
| Cruise | Autonomous vehicles | SoftBank Vision Fund-backed autonomy company | Cruise gave SoftBank exposure to self-driving vehicles and AI-powered transportation. |
| Berkshire Grey | Warehouse robotics / automation | Acquired by SoftBank Group | Berkshire Grey adds warehouse automation, robotics, fulfillment systems, and logistics automation to SoftBank’s physical AI exposure. |
| AutoStore | Warehouse automation / robotics | SoftBank-backed automation company | AutoStore provides robotic storage and fulfillment systems used in logistics and warehouse automation. |
| Symbotic | Warehouse robotics / supply chain automation | SoftBank-backed automation company | Symbotic uses robotics and software to automate large-scale warehouse and supply chain operations. |
| Brain Corp | Autonomous robotics software | SoftBank-backed robotics software company | Brain Corp develops autonomous software used in commercial robots, including cleaning and logistics applications. |
| Guardant Health | Healthcare AI / diagnostics | SoftBank Vision Fund-backed healthcare company | Guardant Health uses data and diagnostics to support cancer detection and treatment decisions. |
| Relay Therapeutics | AI-enabled drug discovery | SoftBank-backed biotech company | Relay applies computation and modeling to drug discovery and precision medicine. |
| Exscientia | AI drug discovery | SoftBank-backed AI biotech company | Exscientia uses AI to design and develop drug candidates. |
| Mapbox | AI maps / geospatial infrastructure | SoftBank-backed location platform | Mapbox provides mapping, location, and geospatial infrastructure that can support autonomy, logistics, and AI applications. |
What SoftBank’s AI portfolio says about the market
SoftBank’s AI portfolio is a map of Masayoshi Son’s belief that artificial intelligence will become the dominant economic platform of the next decade.
The firm is backing AI software companies. It is trying to own pieces of the stack that make AI possible:
- Frontier AI models
- Semiconductors
- AI CPUs
- Data centers
- Energy infrastructure
- Robotics
- Warehouse automation
- Enterprise AI agents
- Healthcare AI
- AI search
- Autonomous systems
That is why SoftBank’s AI strategy feels more like an industrial buildout than a venture portfolio.
The company is placing capital across the “model to machine” chain: the AI model, the chips that run it, the data centers that host it, the energy that powers it, the robots that bring it into the physical world, and the enterprise tools that distribute it.
1. OpenAI is the center of SoftBank’s AI strategy
SoftBank’s biggest AI bet is OpenAI.
The size of the commitment changes how investors should read SoftBank’s portfolio. This is not a small exposure to a hot startup. It is a defining balance-sheet bet.
OpenAI gives SoftBank exposure to the frontier model layer: ChatGPT, enterprise AI, developer APIs, reasoning models, agents, multimodal AI, and future AI operating systems.
It also ties SoftBank into the larger AI infrastructure race.
The more OpenAI scales, the more demand rises for compute, chips, power, data centers, networking, and enterprise distribution. SoftBank is attempting to participate in those layers too.
That is the SoftBank thesis in one sentence: own the model, then build the machine around the model.
2. SoftBank is assembling an AI chip stack
Arm, Ampere, and Graphcore are now central to SoftBank’s AI story.
Arm is the crown jewel. Its architecture already sits across mobile devices, edge computing, data centers, automotive systems, and increasingly AI workloads. As AI expands beyond GPUs into CPUs, edge devices, agentic workloads, and energy-efficient compute, Arm becomes a strategic asset.
Ampere adds cloud and AI CPU design. Its focus on energy-efficient processors matters because AI data centers are becoming power-constrained.
Graphcore adds specialized AI chip expertise. While Graphcore struggled as an independent company, inside SoftBank it becomes part of a broader semiconductor portfolio.
The big idea: SoftBank is not only investing in AI applications. It is trying to control more of the compute layer.
3. Stargate makes SoftBank an AI infrastructure investor
The Stargate Project is one of SoftBank’s most ambitious AI infrastructure bets.
AI models do not scale on vibes. They need chips, electricity, land, cooling, networking, transformers, transmission lines, data centers, and capital.
That is where Stargate fits.
SoftBank’s partnership with OpenAI, Oracle, and other partners gives the company exposure to the data center buildout behind frontier AI. This could become one of the largest infrastructure projects in the AI economy.
It also shifts SoftBank’s AI exposure from venture-style risk into infrastructure-style risk.
That means bigger numbers, longer timelines, more leverage, and potentially enormous upside if AI demand continues to rise.
4. SoftBank is moving deeper into physical AI
The ABB Robotics deal is one of the most important updates to this page.
By agreeing to acquire ABB’s robotics business, SoftBank is moving deeper into industrial robotics, automation, and physical AI.
That matters because robotics may be one of the next major AI markets after software.
SoftBank already had exposure to warehouse automation and robotics through companies like Berkshire Grey, AutoStore, Symbotic, Brain Corp, and SoftBank Robotics. ABB Robotics gives it a much larger industrial automation platform.
Physical AI includes industrial arms, logistics automation, warehouse systems, autonomous machines, robotics software, perception, sensors, and factory automation.
SoftBank appears to be building toward that future.
5. SoftBank is linking AI to energy
SB Energy is another important part of the AI stack.
AI data centers are power-hungry. As frontier models and inference workloads scale, electricity becomes a strategic bottleneck.
SoftBank’s involvement in SB Energy and AI data center power infrastructure shows that the company understands AI is not only a software revolution. It is also an energy and infrastructure race.
This is one of the biggest shifts in AI investing.
The bottleneck is no longer just talent or models. It is power.
6. SoftBank is backing AI distribution in Japan
SB OpenAI Japan gives SoftBank a local enterprise AI distribution channel.
The joint venture is designed to bring OpenAI-powered enterprise AI to Japanese companies. That matters because SoftBank has a massive corporate network, telecom reach, local enterprise relationships, and operating subsidiaries that can act as early customers.
This is where SoftBank’s structure becomes unique.
Unlike a normal VC firm, SoftBank can invest in AI, distribute AI, deploy AI internally, and use its operating companies as test beds.
That gives the group more knobs to turn than a traditional investor.
7. SoftBank’s AI portfolio still carries Vision Fund DNA
The older Vision Fund bets still matter.
Companies like Cruise, AutoStore, Symbotic, Berkshire Grey, Brain Corp, Guardant Health, Exscientia, Relay Therapeutics, and Mapbox show where SoftBank was already building AI exposure before the current boom.
Some of these bets were early. Some were messy. Some were expensive.
But they reveal the same pattern: SoftBank has long been interested in autonomy, robotics, healthcare data, logistics, mapping, and automation.
The 2026 version of the strategy is simply bigger, more concentrated, and more tied to OpenAI.
Top SoftBank-backed AI companies to watch
OpenAI
OpenAI is the most important company in SoftBank’s AI portfolio.
The company gives SoftBank exposure to frontier model development, AI agents, enterprise AI, developer APIs, consumer AI, and the broader platform battle around artificial intelligence.
Arm
Arm is SoftBank’s most important semiconductor asset.
Its architecture is used across devices, servers, automotive systems, edge computing, and increasingly AI workloads. If AI compute becomes more distributed and energy-sensitive, Arm’s role could become even more important.
Ampere Computing
Ampere designs energy-efficient processors for cloud and AI workloads.
The acquisition strengthens SoftBank’s position in AI data center compute and gives the group another chip asset aligned with Arm.
Graphcore
Graphcore is a SoftBank-owned AI chip company.
Its technology adds specialized AI accelerator expertise to SoftBank’s semiconductor strategy.
ABB Robotics
ABB Robotics gives SoftBank an industrial robotics platform.
The deal expands SoftBank’s physical AI exposure beyond warehouse automation and into global robotics, manufacturing, and industrial automation.
SB Energy
SB Energy connects SoftBank’s AI strategy to power infrastructure.
As data centers become a central bottleneck for AI scaling, energy assets become increasingly strategic.
Stargate
Stargate is SoftBank’s large-scale AI infrastructure bet with OpenAI, Oracle, and partners.
It gives SoftBank exposure to the data center and compute infrastructure required for frontier AI.
Perplexity
Perplexity is one of the leading AI-native answer engines.
It represents a bet that search behavior will shift from blue links to direct AI-generated answers and research workflows.
Tempus AI
Tempus AI is a healthcare AI company focused on diagnostics, data, and precision medicine.
It fits SoftBank’s long-running interest in healthcare data and AI-enabled medical workflows.
Berkshire Grey
Berkshire Grey gives SoftBank exposure to warehouse robotics and logistics automation.
It matters because logistics is one of the clearest near-term markets for physical AI.
SoftBank’s AI investment themes
Frontier AI
OpenAI is SoftBank’s flagship frontier model bet and the center of its 2026 AI strategy.
AI chips
Arm, Ampere, and Graphcore make SoftBank one of the most interesting AI semiconductor investors.
AI infrastructure
Stargate, SB Energy, and data center-related investments connect SoftBank to the physical infrastructure behind AI.
Robotics and physical AI
ABB Robotics, Berkshire Grey, AutoStore, Symbotic, Brain Corp, and SoftBank Robotics give the group broad exposure to automation and robotics.
Healthcare AI
Tempus AI, Guardant Health, Exscientia, and Relay Therapeutics show SoftBank’s interest in AI-enabled diagnostics, drug discovery, and precision medicine.
AI search and enterprise AI
Perplexity and SB OpenAI Japan show SoftBank’s exposure to AI-native search and enterprise AI deployment.
Autonomy and geospatial intelligence
Cruise and Mapbox give SoftBank exposure to autonomous vehicles, maps, and location intelligence.
Feed The AI take
SoftBank’s AI portfolio is the most Masayoshi Son thing imaginable: enormous, bold, complicated, and allergic to half-measures.
But underneath the spectacle is a clear strategy.
SoftBank is trying to build exposure to every major bottleneck in the AI economy:
The model: OpenAI.
The chips: Arm, Ampere, Graphcore.
The data centers: Stargate.
The power: SB Energy.
The robots: ABB Robotics, Berkshire Grey, AutoStore, Symbotic.
The enterprise channel: SB OpenAI Japan.
The AI search layer: Perplexity.
The healthcare layer: Tempus, Guardant, Exscientia, Relay.
That is the real signal.
SoftBank is betting that AI apps will grow. It is betting that AI becomes an industrial system, and it wants ownership across the system.
The risk is obvious: leverage, concentration, capital intensity, and timing.
The upside is also obvious: if AI demand continues to grow, SoftBank owns pieces of the rails, the machines, the chips, and the platforms.
FAQ
What AI companies has SoftBank invested in?
SoftBank has invested in or acquired AI and AI-adjacent companies including OpenAI, Arm, Ampere Computing, Graphcore, ABB Robotics, SB Energy, Perplexity, Tempus AI, Cruise, Berkshire Grey, AutoStore, Symbotic, Brain Corp, Guardant Health, Exscientia, Relay Therapeutics, and Mapbox.
Is OpenAI backed by SoftBank?
Yes. SoftBank has become one of OpenAI’s largest investors. In 2026, SoftBank announced a $30 billion follow-on investment that would bring its expected cumulative investment in OpenAI to $64.6 billion if completed.
Does SoftBank own Arm?
Yes. SoftBank remains the controlling shareholder of Arm, one of the most important semiconductor architecture companies in the AI computing ecosystem.
Why did SoftBank acquire Ampere Computing?
SoftBank agreed to acquire Ampere Computing to strengthen its AI computing strategy. Ampere designs energy-efficient CPUs for cloud and AI workloads, complementing Arm’s compute platform.
Does SoftBank own Graphcore?
Yes. Graphcore is a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank and is part of SoftBank’s AI Computing segment.
Is SoftBank buying ABB Robotics?
Yes. ABB announced an agreement to sell its Robotics division to SoftBank Group for an enterprise value of $5.375 billion, with the transaction expected to close in mid-to-late 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
What is Stargate?
Stargate is a large-scale AI infrastructure project involving OpenAI, Oracle, SoftBank, and other partners. It is focused on building data center and compute infrastructure for AI.
What is SoftBank’s AI strategy?
SoftBank’s AI strategy appears focused on owning pieces of the full AI stack: frontier models, chips, data centers, power, robotics, enterprise AI, healthcare AI, and AI-native applications.
What makes SoftBank’s AI portfolio different?
SoftBank’s AI portfolio is more infrastructure-heavy and capital-intensive than most venture portfolios. It includes startup investments, acquisitions, semiconductor assets, energy infrastructure, robotics platforms, and data center projects.
What are the top SoftBank-backed AI companies to watch?
The top SoftBank-backed AI companies and assets to watch include OpenAI, Arm, Ampere Computing, Graphcore, ABB Robotics, SB Energy, Stargate, Perplexity, Tempus AI, and Berkshire Grey.
Methodology
Feed The AI tracks SoftBank-backed AI companies using SoftBank Group announcements, SoftBank Vision Fund disclosures, company press releases, acquisition announcements, funding reports, financial news, and startup databases.
This tracker includes companies where AI is core to the product, business model, infrastructure layer, or long-term strategic value. It also includes AI-adjacent companies in semiconductors, robotics, energy, data centers, autonomy, logistics, healthcare, and enterprise AI.
This page may not include stealth investments, undisclosed positions, minority stakes without public confirmation, or companies where AI is only a minor product feature.
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