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Tag: SoftBank

  • China Blocks SoftBank’s $5.4Bn Acquisition of ABB Robotics

    China Blocks SoftBank’s $5.4Bn Acquisition of ABB Robotics

    Chinese regulators blocked SoftBank Group’s planned $5.4 billion acquisition of ABB’s robotics division, halting the Japanese conglomerate’s bid to expand its industrial automation holdings across Asia.

    Swiss-Swedish multinational ABB confirmed the regulatory roadblock on Thursday following months of review by authorities in Beijing.

    Regulatory Obstacles in Beijing

    SoftBank agreed to buy the business unit to integrate factory automation with its broader investments in artificial intelligence. Chinese authorities refused clearance, preventing the transfer of manufacturing assets and operational licenses within the country.

    The veto stops the Japanese group from taking direct ownership of ABB’s robotics facilities located in the mainland market. ABB’s automation hardware supplies automotive assembly lines, electronics factories, and consumer product packaging plants throughout East Asia.

    Impact on Automation and Supply Chains

    Industrial robotics remains a tightly guarded sector across Asia. Beijing treats manufacturing hardware, motion controllers, and precision assembly equipment as critical infrastructure rather than simple commercial assets.

    For factory operators and automated distribution networks, the blocked takeover leaves ABB operating as an independent supplier under its existing Swiss corporate umbrella. Warehouse logistics providers and automotive builders across Japan and Southeast Asia had evaluated the deal as a pathway toward tighter software integration between SoftBank’s artificial intelligence platforms and ABB’s robotic arms.

    SoftBank Strategy Diverted

    Masayoshi Son spent recent quarters reallocating capital toward automation systems, computer chips, and machine intelligence. Losing access to ABB’s hardware division forces SoftBank to look for alternative mechanical platforms to deploy its software assets.

    The company previously invested in autonomous mobile warehouse systems and commercial service robots. Buying an established industrial heavy hitter like ABB was meant to leapfrog years of hardware development.

    Earlier Commitments and Next Moves

    SoftBank announced the purchase agreement in October 2025 as part of a multi-billion dollar capital deployment strategy centered on factory intelligence. That deal relied on approvals across multiple regulatory jurisdictions where ABB maintains operating hubs.

    Attention now shifts to whether SoftBank attempts to carve out ABB’s non-China assets or abandons the $5.4 billion transaction entirely.

  • Japan Forms AI Cyber Unit as PHP Flaws Disrupt Transport and Banks

    Japan Forms AI Cyber Unit as PHP Flaws Disrupt Transport and Banks

    Japan will set up a dedicated team to simulate artificial-intelligence cyberattacks after flaws in the PHP programming language forced corporate shutdowns across Tokyo.

    The disruption hit core consumer services across banking, aviation, rail and telecommunications on Friday as engineers scrambled to patch the open-source code underpinning major commercial platforms.

    Disruptions Hit Transport and Telecoms

    SoftBank suspended its mobile emergency alert system while it conducted system maintenance to fix the vulnerability. The outage meant mobile subscribers could not receive early warnings for earthquakes, tsunami alerts, or evacuation directives across the carrier’s network.

    East Japan Railway cut access to several internet services before restoring a portion of group operations on Friday. Carrier ANA, brokerage Nomura and lender Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group also took web portals and service channels offline as emergency containment measures took effect.

    Public administration tools suffered parallel shutdowns. The Ministry of Finance, the National Tax Agency, and the Meteorological Agency all halted selected online public services while technicians tested internal systems against external exploit traffic.

    Corporate Exposure Across Japanese Operations

    Commercial operators in Japan maintain deep digital records that automated attack scripts can now probe without traditional Japanese-language friction. AI automation allows attackers to scan corporate stacks, draft tailored phishing attacks, and find exposed interfaces without human translation hurdles.

    Nippon Paint applied a security patch and restored its corporate web presence after pulling systems off the public internet. Most consumer-facing networks face immediate exposure because legacy internal infrastructure across Japan relies heavily on long-standing PHP deployments rather than modern isolated microservices.

    Trend Micro chief executive Eva Chen noted that companies in the market have relied on language barriers and perceived infrastructure stability that no longer protect corporate networks from rapid automated scanning.

    Coordinated Patching and State Response

    PHP developers released critical fixes on Wednesday after discovering that flaws had lingered undetected within the software for years. Maintainers urged enterprise users globally to patch running software immediately.

    “An attack can succeed by getting through just one hole … For that reason it’s important we shift our mindset and think from the perspective of the attacker,” Japanese industry minister Ryosei Akazawa said on Friday.

    Akazawa confirmed that state defense teams will mirror automated attacker methods to probe operational resilience before threat actors exploit remaining unpatched systems.

    The Next Restoration Steps

    Transport networks and commercial banks must clear remaining back-office systems before fully restoring external interfaces. JR East said the rest of its suspended group digital services will return to normal operation as individual units confirm their patches hold.

  • Tokyo Stocks Plunge 5 Percent as Chipmakers Lead Broad Regional Selloff

    Tokyo Stocks Plunge 5 Percent as Chipmakers Lead Broad Regional Selloff

    Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average tumbled 5.39 percent on Thursday, hitting an intraday low of 64,092.74 points during afternoon trade in Tokyo.

    The drop wiped out recent gains across the benchmark index as semiconductor equipment makers, memory producers and technology conglomerates tracked sharp losses from Wall Street.

    Selling started at the opening bell and deepened through the session. Chip-testing equipment manufacturer Advantest dropped more than 15 percent by midday, while fabrication gear supplier Tokyo Electron fell about 8 percent. Tech investment giant SoftBank Group slid more than 10 percent, and flash-memory manufacturer Kioxia shed over 11 percent.

    Regional Chip Supply Chains Take Direct Hit

    The rout swept immediately into Seoul, where heavy exposure to memory chips triggered steeper losses across the Kospi. South Korea’s benchmark fell nearly 8 percent, pulled down by an almost 10 percent drop in Samsung Electronics and an 11 percent tumble at SK Hynix.

    For hardware operators and component procurement managers across Asia, the valuation drop reflects growing investor hesitation around capital expenditure timelines for artificial intelligence infrastructure. Equipment vendors face tighter scrutiny on order backlogs as customer balance sheets absorb higher financing costs. The pressure spreads down the supply tier to component distributors, who must navigate sudden shifts in inventory financing rates while factory input costs remain high.

    Energy Costs and Rate Uncertainty Squeeze Margins

    Higher consumer prices in North America sparked the slide. The United States reported September inflation of 3.7 percent on Wednesday, prompting futures traders to briefly price in a 50 percent probability of an interest rate increase before odds settled back to 27 percent. The US Federal Reserve holds its next policy meeting on Oct. 27 and 28.

    Sustained commodity pressure compounds the interest rate risk for Asian electronics manufacturers and logistics networks. Brent crude held above $100 a barrel as Middle East tensions persisted, driving up freight surcharges and factory utility bills across import-dependent industrial hubs in Japan and South Korea.

    Sovereign Debt and Currency Shifts

    Capital rotated swiftly into safe-haven assets as equities retreated throughout Thursday morning. The yield on the 10-year Japanese government bond fell to 2.93 percent, marking its lowest reading in roughly a month as bond prices rose.

    Currency markets reflected the defensive positioning. The Japanese yen strengthened below 158 against the US dollar on Thursday after changing hands near 159 on Wednesday night.

    Retreat From Historic Benchmark Highs

    Thursday’s drop places the Nikkei more than 10 percent below its all-time high of 72,831.73 set in June. Tokyo’s primary index had climbed above the 70,000 threshold as recently as Oct. 5, supported by US technology momentum, and remains up 35 percent over the past 12 months.

    Market attention now turns to the Federal Reserve rate decision on Oct. 28 and third-quarter earnings disclosures from regional chip producers, where order books for advanced memory and foundry tools will show whether capital spending plans hold firm.

  • SoftBank Restores Mobile Coverage Across 5Km Radius from 3,000 Metres

    SoftBank Restores Mobile Coverage Across 5Km Radius from 3,000 Metres

    SoftBank Corp. Announced this week the successful completion of a trial providing mobile communication capability from the air to establish temporary ground coverage during large-scale disasters.

    The trial utilized a domestically designed and manufactured Disaster Relief Unit Pod mounted on a large remotely piloted aircraft system operated by the Japan Coast Guard, conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

    Airborne Cells Over Disaster Zones

    Transmitting radio waves from an altitude of 3,000 meters, the aircraft established a mobile communication area with a radius of over 5 km, delivering outdoor download speeds of up to 20 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 5 Mbps on 5 MHz bandwidth.

    Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications conducted the test alongside the Coast Guard in an inter-ministerial partnership. State backing reflects urgent policy pressure to harden communication networks against catastrophic seismic events along the Nankai Trough.

    Commercial Stakes for Asian Operators

    Regional carriers across Asia-Pacific face heavy costs from climate-driven network outages, yet few have solved wide-area restoration beyond truck-mounted base stations that stall at flooded or blocked roads. Telcos in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Taiwan have tested tethered drones and satellite-to-cell protocols. Short battery endurance and low data throughput limit those tools. SoftBank’s use of a long-endurance maritime surveillance drone bridges the gap between low-capacity orbital links and localized field generators.

    Fleet costs for dedicated aircraft remain steep. Telecom operators cannot justify buying military-grade drones solely for disaster standby. Shared-asset pacts with coast guards and civil defense agencies offer the only workable operating model. SoftBank is positioning its communications pod as a plug-and-play government utility rather than a standalone carrier capital expenditure.

    From Coastal Helicopters to Fixed-Wing Drones

    Testing builds on a phased development program. SoftBank ran initial flights in March 2026 by mounting the DRU Pod on a conventional helicopter over Kuroshio Town in Kochi Prefecture. Those trials proved signal transmission geometry. Engineers then adapted the housing for high-altitude, long-endurance fixed-wing drones capable of staying airborne for dozens of hours.

    Funding stems from a research contract titled Development of Aerial Mobile Network Systems for Rapid Coverage Restoration in Disaster-Affected Areas, awarded to SoftBank in 2023 under the Beyond 5G and 6G Fund Program run by Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communications Technology.

    Next Steps in Fleet Integration

    SoftBank will now refine pod aerodynamics and automate spectrum handoffs between aerial platforms and surviving ground towers. Field teams plan to test autonomous deployment routines to cut launch preparation times following emergency alerts. Regulators and emergency planners will evaluate standardized operational protocols for the system ahead of commercial rollout targets for coastal disaster response units.

  • SoftBank Raises $11 Billion in Junk Bonds to Fund AI Push

    SoftBank Raises $11 Billion in Junk Bonds to Fund AI Push

    SoftBank Group raised roughly $11 billion in multi-currency high-yield bonds across Tokyo and overseas markets this week to fund its accelerating artificial intelligence investments.

    The debt package makes the Japanese conglomerate the largest corporate junk-bond borrower in the world.

    Tranches in dollars and euros were priced at historic borrowing costs for the group. The dollar portion totaled $10 billion across three tenors. It included $1 billion in 3.5-year notes yielding 8.625 percent, $4.5 billion in 5.5-year paper yielding 9.25 percent, and $4.5 billion in 7.5-year securities yielding 9.75 percent. The firm also sold 1 billion euros ($1.14 billion) across four-year and six-year notes. The longer euro tranche landed at an 8 percent yield.

    Yields Climb to Decade Highs

    Borrowing costs topped anything founder Masayoshi Son has paid on dollar debt. Pricing landed on a day when benchmark US Treasury yields reached two-decade highs. That pushed coupon expectations up across global credit desks.

    Strong institutional appetite still allowed the company to trim pricing from its opening guidance. Aggregate orders for the dollar bonds reached more than $30 billion by late afternoon in Asian trading. That demand gave underwriters room to compress yields before final allocation.

    Credit markets nonetheless demanded a sharp premium for the company’s heavy balance sheet exposure. The five-year credit default swap spread on SoftBank debt widened this month to its highest level since early 2025.

    The Scale of the AI Push

    Proceeds will finance investment commitments nearing $65 billion to ChatGPT maker OpenAI alongside related computing and infrastructure acquisitions. Son is assembling software, data centre, and chip assets. His goal is an integrated artificial intelligence ecosystem across global markets.

    Goldman Sachs credit strategists calculate that global AI-linked corporate debt issuance has surpassed $575 billion in 2026. Rapid accumulation of balance sheet use across technology conglomerates raises exposure for bondholders if enterprise monetization lags behind infrastructure spending.

    Institutional debt investors in Asia and the West are now pricing direct equity-style operational risks into corporate paper. For suppliers and digital platform operators across Asia, SoftBank’s aggressive funding confirms that capital spending on computing capacity will remain concentrated. Only a small cluster of mega-cap players can pay such punitive interest rates.

    Earlier Bets and Balance Sheet Pressure

    This debt sale follows a string of escalating capital outlays by the Tokyo-based investment house. In April 2025, SoftBank revealed an initial $30 billion capital commitment to OpenAI. That deal triggered a sharp expansion in the cost of insuring its underlying credit.

    Son has rejected suggestions that the pace of debt-fueled capital expenditure creates systemic risk for the group. He stated earlier this year that artificial intelligence sectors will generate 20 percent of worldwide gross domestic product by 2040. That represents an estimated $46 trillion in economic output.

    Market scrutiny now shifts to the coupon schedule of the new debt package, which adds roughly $1 billion in annual interest charges to group cash flow. Investors are watching SoftBank’s next quarterly earnings filing for detail on portfolio asset sales required to service the debt load before the 3.5-year dollar tranche matures.

  • Japan Four Big Telcos Form 5G Millimeter-Wave Sharing Pact

    Japan Four Big Telcos Form 5G Millimeter-Wave Sharing Pact

    Japan’s four nationwide mobile operators signed an agreement on September 21 to jointly study sharing 28GHz millimeter-wave 5G base stations and network architectures.

    The pact brings together KDDI, NTT Docomo, SoftBank and Rakuten Mobile. Together, their networks serve more than 200 million cellular subscriptions.

    Sharing high-band physical infrastructure

    Signals at 28GHz deliver ultra-high speeds and heavy throughput. However, the radio waves travel short distances and cannot penetrate concrete walls, glass or foliage. Covering a single commercial district requires hundreds of small cells and repeaters. That multiplies site acquisition costs and power bills for each carrier.

    Under the memorandum of understanding, the four operators will examine technical frameworks to share base station equipment, repeaters and related transmission assets. Each carrier will continue independent commercial rollouts. A joint working group will test how traffic from rival subscriber bases can run across shared physical nodes without degrading data security or individual network performance.

    The cost math behind 28GHz networks

    High-frequency spectrum rollouts have stalled worldwide because capital expenditure per square kilometer outpaces consumer revenue gains. Worldwide mmWave 5G spending is projected to climb from 3.84 billion dollars in 2025 to 4.42 billion dollars in 2026. Even so, individual operators face severe balance-sheet pressure when building proprietary high-band grids.

    By sharing cell sites and repeaters in dense retail quarters, transit hubs and stadiums, Japanese operators aim to cut duplicate capital outlays. Mall operators, transport hubs and enterprise landlords also gain. A unified model eliminates the need to host four separate sets of antennas and power feeds on roofs and interior walls.

    Shifting carrier spending to shared utilities

    This alliance shifts carrier dynamics across Japan. Rather than competing purely on antenna counts, the operators are treating high-frequency physical layer equipment as a common utility. Core networks and retail pricing plans will remain distinct.

    Operational risk sits in maintenance allocation and capacity bottlenecks during localized peak events. If one carrier’s subscribers crowd a shared node during an urban festival or sporting fixture, the system must arbitrate spectrum access without triggering regulatory complaints over fair competition.

    Earlier trials and global deployment lines

    Collaborative network trials have gained ground across international markets as carriers confront sub-6GHz spectrum exhaustion. Global equipment vendors and tier-one operators launched initial commercial mmWave clusters in early 2023. Enterprise fixed wireless access deployments then expanded into industrial parks and logistics hubs through 2024 and 2025.

    Japanese carriers previously tested private 5G and standalone 28GHz cells in manufacturing facilities and isolated transit pilots. Despite those trials, commercial handset connections rarely lock onto millimeter-wave signals outside select train platforms and flagship retail venues.

    Technical evaluations under the new memorandum will run over the coming quarters. Teams will focus on multi-operator core network integration and shared repeater specifications ahead of targeted commercial joint-site deployments.

  • Snapdeal Parent AceVector Sets IPO Price Band for $182 Million Valuation

    Snapdeal Parent AceVector Sets IPO Price Band for $182 Million Valuation

    Snapdeal parent AceVector has set a price band of Rs 30 to Rs 32 per share for its initial public offering on September 25. It is targeting a valuation of Rs 1,741 crore.

    That figure represents roughly $182 million at the upper end of the band. At its peak in 2016, Snapdeal commanded a $6.5 billion valuation.

    AceVector is raising Rs 287 crore in fresh equity. Existing backers are selling shares worth Rs 133 crore through an offer-for-sale component. The selling shareholders include SoftBank, Nexus Venture Partners and Foxconn. SoftBank holds 30.1 percent as the largest outside shareholder. It is offloading Rs 88 crore of equity while keeping stock valued at Rs 362 crore. Co-founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal hold about 34 percent directly and through affiliate entities. Neither will sell stock.

    Where the capital goes

    Proceeds from the primary issue will fund operating costs and customer acquisition. The group plans to allocate almost half the fresh capital directly to marketing and promotions for Snapdeal. It is trying to win back online shoppers in smaller Indian towns. Market share in those regions was lost over years to Walmart-owned Flipkart and Amazon India.

    A corporate restructuring in 2022 placed the core e-commerce portal alongside two other units: software provider Unicommerce and direct-to-consumer incubator Stellaro Brands. Unicommerce listed separately in 2024 through a Rs 277-crore public issue. That carved out the software-as-a-service business from the wider marketplace losses.

    Financial turnaround before the listing

    Regulatory filings show narrower losses alongside higher revenue. In the fiscal year ended March 2026, AceVector reported operating revenue of Rs 510 crore, up 30 percent from the previous year. Net losses shrank to Rs 45 crore from Rs 126 crore over the same period. The change reflects heavy cuts to overhead and supply chain operations.

    SoftBank invested approximately $1 billion into Snapdeal between 2014 and 2015. It wrote down the entire holding in 2017 after a planned sale to Flipkart collapsed. The public listing gives the Japanese group and its venture peers a partial cash exit after holding the asset for a decade.

    The market reality for value e-commerce

    Selling low-ticket apparel and home goods to tier-2 and tier-3 shoppers in India is a crowded, low-margin business. Snapdeal once dominated value commerce online. Since then, buyers of low-cost apparel and general merchandise have migrated to Meesho, Flipkart’s Shopsy, and quick-commerce networks delivering staple goods in under fifteen minutes.

    Allocating Rs 140 crore to marketing will buy app installs. It will not alter Snapdeal’s structural delivery cost per order against competitors operating regional sortation networks. RetailNews Asia views the IPO as a balance-sheet reset rather than an expansion war chest, leaving AceVector to survive on niche non-metro demand while leaning on Stellaro Brands for margin support.

    Regulatory steps to the public market

    The listing process began with a confidential pre-filing submitted to the Securities and Exchange Board of India in July 2025. Regulators cleared the document in November. In December, the company filed an updated draft red herring prospectus to scale back the offer size to match subdued tech valuations.

    Public subscriptions open on September 25, 2026. Trading on Indian stock exchanges will follow final share allocations in early October.

  • XLSmart Begins Work on 8,000-Kilometer Subsea Cable Linking Southeast Asia to Japan

    XLSmart Begins Work on 8,000-Kilometer Subsea Cable Linking Southeast Asia to Japan

    Indonesian operator XLSmart has started construction on Candle, an 8,000-kilometer subsea fiber network. The route links Indonesia to Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Japan. Commercial operations will begin across all six markets in 2028.

    Consortium partners backing the system include Meta, SoftBank, Telekom Malaysia through its TM Technology Services unit, the Philippines’ Globe Telecom, and Japan’s IPS Inc. NEC Corporation will supply the marine transmission equipment. It will deploy 24 fiber pairs along the seabed.

    The Route Through Batam

    Candle lands in Indonesia at Tanjung Bemban on Batam island. That puts the cable directly opposite Singapore’s main data exchanges. Batam serves as a spillover hub for data centers and cross-border transit links while Singapore limits domestic power allocations.

    Crews have finished initial marine work and landing preparations at the site. The route gives carriers a fresh corridor for cloud, enterprise, and artificial intelligence traffic between Southeast Asian cities and East Asia.

    PT XLSMART Telecom Sejahtera Tbk is handling local operations and Indonesian regulatory filings. This is one of the operator’s major capital programs following the merger of PT XL Axiata Tbk and PT Smartfren Telecom Tbk.

    Wholesale Capacity and Route Diversity

    For regional enterprises and cloud platforms, Candle adds physical diversity away from congested legacy routes. Extra subsea lines protect against cable cuts and geopolitical friction across the South China Sea and Luzon Strait.

    Wholesale buyers gain dedicated capacity instead of leasing space on older multi-party systems. The link also expands Meta and SoftBank’s owned transmission assets between Southeast Asian hubs and Japanese internet exchanges.

    Enterprise demand across Jakarta, Manila, and Kuala Lumpur continues to drive direct subsea investment into domestic carriers. XLSmart Director and Chief Enterprise Business Officer Andrijanto Muljono said: “Candle represents a strategic investment to prepare for Indonesia’s long-term connectivity needs.”

    Consortium Lineup and Build Steps

    Planning for Candle began in late 2025 with founding members Meta, SoftBank, IPS, Telekom Malaysia, XLSmart, and NEC. Globe Telecom joined the group in April 2026 as an equity investor and the landing partner for the Philippines.

    Each landing partner oversees shore-end work, territorial water permits, and domestic terminal stations. Teams have moved from desktop studies to physical landing milestones, while NEC manufactures the cable.

    With 24 fiber pairs, Candle ranks among the highest-capacity regional systems in Asian waters. Most older subsea infrastructure in the corridor operates on 8 to 16 fiber pairs.

    Regulatory Hurdles and Timelines

    Permit applications are advancing across all six landing jurisdictions. Marine surveys, cable-laying contracts, and deep-water work must clear national maritime agencies before installation vessels lay the main trunk lines.

    On Batam, the landing station must connect directly with domestic terrestrial backbones across Java and Sumatra to carry traffic inland. Consortium engineers will run dry testing and wet plant commissioning through late 2027 before opening the system to commercial traffic in 2028.

  • SoftBank Shares Fall 13% as OpenAI and Anthropic Urge Caution

    SoftBank Shares Fall 13% as OpenAI and Anthropic Urge Caution

    SoftBank Group shares tumbled 13 per cent in Tokyo after artificial intelligence developers OpenAI and Anthropic urged market caution.

    The sell-off hit the Japanese conglomerate’s portfolio valuation immediately. Its holdings remain heavily weighted toward generative technology and semiconductor assets.

    Reassessing tech exposure

    Traders dumped the stock after commentary from the two foundation-model leaders cooled expectations for rapid commercial monetization. SoftBank spent recent quarters shifting capital into frontier model creators and computing infrastructure. That strategy tied its balance sheet directly to the artificial intelligence buildout.

    Holding companies with concentrated tech bets take the brunt when model builders forecast slower timelines. SoftBank’s trading multiple relies heavily on private asset valuations. That leaves little cushion during sector pullbacks.

    Valuation risk across portfolio holdings

    Institutional investors across Asian markets now face the fallout from aggressive hardware and software bets. Regional peers have largely favored diversified balance sheets and disciplined corporate software rollouts over pure-play generative startups.

    A major risk lies in the gap between heavy capital expenditure commitments and verifiable enterprise revenue. When model developers lower operational targets, secondary market liquidity for portfolio firms dries up fast.

    Market pressure mounts in Tokyo

    Past quarters saw SoftBank aggressively shift cash out of mature holdings to fund new technology bets. That redeployment concentrated risk into a narrow band of private tech assets rather than stable cash-generating operations.

    Trading desks in Tokyo are watching SoftBank’s next portfolio disclosure to see whether the group recalibrates its deployment pace or maintains existing investment targets.

  • SoftBank Completes Japan Airborne Base Station Trial for 2027 Rollout

    SoftBank Completes Japan Airborne Base Station Trial for 2027 Rollout

    SoftBank Corp. Completed Japan’s first stratospheric mobile base trial over Kochi Prefecture. The platform transmitted voice, video and drone control signals from an altitude of 20 kilometres.

    The uncrewed, airship-like craft can hover for up to six months. It acts as an airborne cell tower when earthquakes or typhoons knock out ground networks.

    Stratospheric Flight Over Kochi

    Crews launched the High Altitude Platform Station craft from New Mexico. They ran communication tests above western Japan’s Muroto region on August 23 and August 24. Engineers confirmed stable two-way voice, video and emergency channels during the two-day window.

    Flight trials also maintained continuous control links with inspection drones. SoftBank plans to deploy those links during natural disasters to check damaged roads and assess collapsed buildings without risking ground survey crews.

    Rival Operators Test Disaster Links

    Japan’s three dominant carriers are competing to secure non-terrestrial coverage across an archipelago exposed to frequent seismic activity. SoftBank, NTT DOCOMO and KDDI Corp. Already sell direct-to-satellite messaging for smartphones. Satellite bandwidth, however, struggles to support video feeds and autonomous drone flights during emergencies.

    High-altitude stations solve that bottleneck by operating closer to Earth than low-orbit satellites. NTT DOCOMO is preparing trials in Ishikawa Prefecture’s Noto peninsula using a balloon-shaped craft. That project targets damage assessments and labor monitoring for forestry and agriculture.

    Commercial Service Targets 2027

    Demand for stratospheric networks intensified after a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck the Noto region on January 1, 2024. The disaster cut road access and severed terrestrial fiber links across dozens of coastal communities.

    SoftBank plans to widen flight zones and extend mission durations ahead of a commercial rollout in 2027. That service will target enterprise clients and municipal governments seeking backup connectivity during regular operations.

  • SoftBank Sets 4.75% Coupon for 1 Trillion Yen Retail Bond

    SoftBank Sets 4.75% Coupon for 1 Trillion Yen Retail Bond

    SoftBank Group set a 4.75 per cent coupon rate on its 1 trillion yen ($6.4 billion) retail bond issue in Tokyo. It is the company’s highest coupon on straight bonds in 17 years.

    The 1 trillion yen offering ties an earlier debt sale by NTT Finance as the largest bond issue ever pitched directly to individual Japanese investors by a domestic company. SoftBank Chairman and Chief Executive Masayoshi Son is tapping local household savings. The group is reloading its balance sheet for technology and artificial intelligence investments.

    Yields Hit Seventeen-Year High

    Retail buyers have crowded into corporate bond issues from issuers like SoftBank and e-commerce group Rakuten after decades of near-zero deposit rates. They want income. At 4.75 per cent, SoftBank is paying a premium over standard domestic debt instruments to lock in retail capital directly.

    Shifting benchmark rates in Tokyo have increased corporate borrowing costs across the market. SoftBank continues to lean on domestic household savers. Local depositors remain drawn to the company’s brand recognition and fixed coupon rates compared to standard bank accounts.

    Fueling Tech and AI Capital Needs

    Individual investors across Japan have historically served as a reliable funding source for SoftBank during previous growth phases. Domestic retail debt issues shielded the group from tighter conditions in global syndicated loan and dollar bond markets during volatile tech cycles.

    These funds give Son expanded liquidity to pursue large-scale commitments across computing infrastructure and global tech platforms. Market attention now turns to the final subscription figures and allocation breakdown across domestic brokerage networks when the retail book closes.

  • SoftBank Plans Record $6.3 Billion Retail Bond Issue for AI Acquisitions

    SoftBank Plans Record $6.3 Billion Retail Bond Issue for AI Acquisitions

    Japanese technology conglomerate SoftBank Group is set to issue around 1 trillion yen, or approximately $6.26 billion, in corporate bonds targeting retail investors within Japan. This planned offering would represent the largest ever retail bond issue by a Japanese company, signaling a bold move by the firm to secure capital for its strategic investments.

    The substantial funds generated from this bond sale are earmarked for an aggressive expansion into the ‘physical AI’ sector. SoftBank’s Chairman and CEO, Masayoshi Son, has consistently championed AI as a critical area for future growth, and this financing move aligns with his vision to bolster the company’s position in advanced technological fields.

    Funding Strategic AI Expansion

    SoftBank’s focus on ‘physical AI’ indicates an interest in artificial intelligence applications that interact directly with the real world, potentially through robotics, autonomous systems, or smart infrastructure. This investment direction could see the company acquiring firms specializing in these areas, deepening its technological capabilities and market presence. The retail bond structure allows SoftBank to tap into domestic Japanese savings, diversifying its funding sources beyond institutional investors or venture capital rounds.

    The strategy reflects a broader trend among major Asian tech players to aggressively fund and acquire innovative technologies, particularly in the AI space. RetailNews Asia has observed similar capital-raising efforts and strategic investments from other regional giants, all vying for leadership in emerging tech markets that promise to reshape consumer experiences and business operations across the continent.

    Boosting Investment in Physical AI

    Masayoshi Son has been a vocal advocate for significant investment in artificial intelligence, previously stating that the AI boom would necessitate trillions in annual investment. This record bond issuance underscores SoftBank’s commitment to transforming that vision into reality. The company’s prior investments in various tech startups globally have positioned it as a key influencer in the digital economy, and this latest move reinforces its determination to lead the next wave of technological innovation.

    For retail investors in Japan, these bonds represent an opportunity to participate in the growth of a prominent domestic tech firm while potentially seeking more attractive returns than traditional savings options. The success of this large-scale offering will be closely watched as an indicator of both investor appetite and SoftBank’s ability to finance its ambitious AI-driven future.

  • SoftBank Innovates AI Infrastructure with Launch of Infrinia Cloud OS: A Game-Changer for GPU Cloud Services

    SoftBank Innovates AI Infrastructure with Launch of Infrinia Cloud OS: A Game-Changer for GPU Cloud Services

    SoftBank Corp., under the leadership of President and CEO Junichi Miyakawa, has unveiled a significant development from its Infrinia Team. This team, specializing in the creation of next-generation AI infrastructure architectures and systems, has designed the Infrinia AI Cloud OS. This is a robust software stack custom-built for AI data centers.

    Capabilities and Advantages of Infrinia AI Cloud OS

    The rollout of Infrinia AI Cloud OS provides AI data center operators with the ability to present kubernetes-as-a-service (KaaS) in multi-tenant environments. It also facilitates inference-as-a-service (Inf-aaS), which offers large language model inference via APIs. These features can be incorporated into operators’ individual GPU cloud services. Compared to custom-made or internally developed options, the software stack is anticipated to decrease total cost of ownership (TCO) and simplify operational intricacies. This facilitates a quicker deployment of GPU cloud services by providers while supporting the entire AI lifecycle, ranging from model training to inference, both flexibly and efficiently.

    SoftBank’s initial strategy is to incorporate Infrinia AI Cloud OS into its own GPU cloud offerings. In the future, the Infrinia Team plans to extend the deployment to overseas data centers and cloud platforms with the aim of achieving global acceptance.

    Meeting the Growing Demand

    The request for GPU-accelerated AI computing is escalating swiftly across various sectors including generative AI, autonomous robotics, simulation, drug discovery, and materials science. As a result, user prerequisites for AI computing have become diverse and complex. These encompass access to fully managed infrastructure with abstracted GPU bare-metal servers, cost-effective inference services which eradicate the need for direct GPU management, and sophisticated operational models where AI training is centralized and inference is deployed at the edge.

    Addressing these diverse needs places significant demands on GPU cloud service providers. Building and operating such environments call for in-depth technical know-how and involve complicated operational procedures. To surmount these hurdles, the Infrinia Team invented Infrinia AI Cloud OS. This solution maximizes GPU performance while easing the deployment and management of advanced GPU cloud services.

    Technical Aspects of the Software Stack

    The software stack’s KaaS capabilities automate the entire infrastructure stratum—from BIOS and RAID configurations to operating systems, GPU drivers, networking, Kubernetes controllers, and storage—on advanced GPU platforms such as NVIDIA GB200 NVL72. Additionally, it supports software-defined, on-demand reconfiguration of physical connectivity and memory, which allows clusters to be created, modified, or removed based on specific AI workload requirements. Automatic node allocation based on GPU proximity and NVIDIA NVLink domains further diminishes latency and enhances GPU-to-GPU bandwidth for large-scale, distributed workloads.

    The Inf-aaS component is crafted to empower users to deploy inference workloads with ease, providing scalable and efficient access to AI model inference via managed services.

    CEO Junichi Miyakawa emphasized SoftBank’s commitment to pioneering the AI era. The company aims to provide essential capabilities required for the large-scale deployment of AI in society through a new GPU cloud service and software business. The Infrinia AI Cloud OS software forms the core of this initiative, designed to seamlessly connect AI data centers, enterprises, service providers, and developers.

    Questions & Answers

    What is Infrinia AI Cloud OS?
    Infrinia AI Cloud OS is a robust software stack custom-built for AI data centers developed by SoftBank’s Infrinia Team.

    What features does Infrinia AI Cloud OS offer?
    It provides kubernetes-as-a-service (KaaS) and inference-as-a-service (Inf-aaS) capabilities. It can also be integrated into operators’ individual GPU cloud services.

    What are the benefits of Infrinia AI Cloud OS?
    Infrinia AI Cloud OS decreases total cost of ownership (TCO) and simplifies operational complexities. This facilitates quicker deployment of GPU cloud services by providers while supporting the entire AI lifecycle flexibly and efficiently.

  • SoftBank and OpenAI Unleash ‘Crystal Intelligence’ to Energize Japan’s Corporate AI Landscape

    SoftBank and OpenAI Unleash ‘Crystal Intelligence’ to Energize Japan’s Corporate AI Landscape

    The SoftBank Group, which includes SoftBank Corp. and SoftBank Group Corp., has partnered with OpenAI Group PBC to launch a joint venture known as SB OAI Japan GK (SB OAI Japan). The aim of this venture is to introduce “Crystal intelligence,” a groundbreaking artificial intelligence (AI) solution designed to revolutionize management and operational processes within Japanese enterprises.

    Bringing AI to Corporate Management

    The new solution combines OpenAI’s most recent products with customized implementation and system integration services. Exclusively available in Japan, “Crystal intelligence” is set for release in 2026, and is expected to significantly enhance organizational productivity and management efficiency by integrating state-of-the-art AI tools.

    The new solution combines OpenAI’s enterprise offerings with local support and implementation provided by SB OAI Japan. SoftBank Corp. will be the first company to adopt and implement this technology before it becomes available to other customers in Japan. This initial deployment will serve to validate its effectiveness in product development and business transformation via advanced AI technologies.

    AI Integration and Implementation

    The insights and expertise acquired from these efforts will be disseminated to other enterprises through SB OAI Japan. The SoftBank Group is dedicated to transitioning into an AI-native organization, encouraging all employees to integrate AI into their daily tasks.

    By utilizing OpenAI’s technology, the Group has already developed approximately 2.5 million custom GPTs (ChatGPTs tailored for specific tasks or use cases) for internal use. It is now laying the groundwork for the introduction of Crystal intelligence.

    Vision for the Future

    Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, says that the joint venture with SoftBank is a significant move that will speed up their vision of delivering advanced AI to some of the world’s most influential companies, starting with Japan. Masayoshi Son, Chairman & CEO of SoftBank Group Corp., believes that this venture marks the beginning of a new era of innovation that will revolutionize how people work and how businesses are managed.

    Questions & Answers

    What is the purpose of the new venture between SoftBank Group and OpenAI Group PBC?
    The joint venture, SB OAI Japan GK, aims to introduce a new AI-driven solution called “Crystal intelligence” that is designed to revolutionize corporate management and operations in Japanese enterprises.

    What is “Crystal intelligence”?
    “Crystal intelligence” is a solution that merges OpenAI’s latest products with customized implementation and system integration services. It aims to boost organizational productivity and efficiency by integrating advanced AI tools.

    When is the release of “Crystal intelligence” expected?
    The release of “Crystal intelligence” is scheduled for 2026 and it will be marketed exclusively in Japan.

  • Nokia and SoftBank Seal Innovative Deal to Propel 5G Standalone Coverage Across Japan

    Nokia and SoftBank Seal Innovative Deal to Propel 5G Standalone Coverage Across Japan

    Nokia has recently declared the broadening of its existing collaboration with SoftBank Corp., showcasing a fresh agreement to supply sophisticated 4G and 5G radio access equipment across Japan. The agreement encompasses an enhancement of current network infrastructure and an extension of 5G standalone coverage through the utilization of Nokia’s cutting-edge AirScale portfolio. The roll-out will take place predominantly in Western Japan.

    Deploying Energy-Efficient Solutions

    As part of this contractual agreement, Nokia is set to incorporate its power-efficient AirScale Radio Access Network (RAN) solutions. This includes the incorporation of the latest Habrok Massive MIMO radios and AirScale baseband equipment. Nokia’s ReefShark System-on-Chip technology powers these solutions, promising stellar performance, expansive coverage, and ample capacity, all while ensuring superior energy efficiency. Additionally, Nokia’s AI-empowered MantaRay solution will be featured to boost network management and Self-Organizing Network capabilities.

    The Head of Radio Access Networks at Nokia, Mark Atkinson, expressed his enthusiasm for the extended partnership, stating that their solutions integrate AI capabilities, delivering unparalleled performance with industry-leading energy efficiency. He further mentioned that these developments support the progression towards Advanced-5G networks.

    Joint Ventures and Future Prospects

    Nokia and SoftBank, both founding members of the AI-RAN Alliance, are jointly embarking on research and development projects focusing on AI-RAN and 6G technologies. This collaboration encompasses joint research, field trials, and the establishment of a virtualized RAN platform. The companies are conducting tests in the 7 GHz frequency band for 6G in Tokyo, employing Massive MIMO technology.

    The Executive Vice President and CTO of SoftBank Corp, Hideyuki Tsukuda, reflected on the enhanced partnership with Nokia, stating that it will facilitate the development of a unique, high-quality 5G network powered by AI. He emphasized that the upgraded network will boost efficiency, reduce emissions, and provide a superior user experience for their customers.

    Questions & Answers

    What is the main aim of Nokia’s collaboration with SoftBank Corp?
    The collaboration aims to supply advanced 4G and 5G radio access equipment across Japan, enhancing the current network infrastructure and extending 5G standalone coverage.

    What key solutions will Nokia implement as a part of this partnership?
    Nokia will integrate its power-efficient AirScale Radio Access Network solutions, which include Habrok Massive MIMO radios and AirScale baseband equipment, powered by Nokia’s ReefShark System-on-Chip technology.

    What future ventures are Nokia and SoftBank planning?
    As part of the AI-RAN Alliance, both Nokia and SoftBank are embarking on joint research and development projects focusing on AI-RAN and 6G technologies, including field trials and the creation of a virtualized RAN platform.