SoftBank shares fall about 11% in Tokyo as AI sentiment cools and U.S. tech weakness spreads to Asia

SoftBank Group (SFTBY) fell about 11% in Tokyo on Thursday as weakness in U.S. tech stocks spilled into Asia, putting pressure on companies with heavy exposure to artificial intelligence.

SoftBank's decline reflects investor pullback from major AI-linked winners. The company has benefited from its stake in Arm Holdings and its backing of OpenAI, though its U.S.-listed shares remain up around 85% year to date.

CEO Masayoshi Son expects the AI revolution to be about 50 times bigger than the dot com boom, but the selloff underscores that SoftBank's stock moves closely with shifts in AI sentiment.