SoftBank posts fourth straight quarterly profit on OpenAI investment gain

TOKYO: Japan’s SoftBank Group booked a fourth consecutive quarterly profit on Thursday, helped by the rising valuation of its OpenAI investment and took on more debt as it deepened its exposure to the red-hot artificial intelligence sector.

SoftBank reported a net profit of 248.6 billion yen ($1.62 billion) ‌in the October-December ⁠quarter, ⁠compared with a net loss of 369 billion yen over the same period the previous year.

The technology and investing conglomerate’s earnings have been flattered by the rising valuation of its investment in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, even as the market questions the risk of overexposure to a single firm.