Reuters reported the pair are holding talks to take DigitalBridge private in a deal that could be worked out by the end of the year.

The global investment company focuses on digital infrastructure, covering data centres, mobile towers, fibre networks and edge computing facilities, with $108 billion in assets under management as of end-September 2025.

Its data centre investments include Vantage Data Centre, with operations in the US and Europe, Malaysia-based AIMS Group and a US-based colocation and edge data centre provider DataBank.

Last month it signed an agreement with KT to develop next-generation AI data centres in South Korea.

SoftBank has been on an acquisition splurge this year, buying chip designers Ampere last month and UK-based Graphcore in July. It also forged a deal to invest $30 billion in OpenAI and is part of the Stargate venture with the AI company and Oracle.

In June, SoftBank chair and CEO Masayoshi Son laid out the ambitious goal of creating the largest artificial super intelligence platform within a decade.

The post SoftBank Group looks to buy DigitalBridge appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The project will combine SoftBank’s AI-RAN with Yaskawa Electric’s AI robotics.

In a statement, the operator explained AI operating on a MEC platform can be used to integrate and analyse data from robot sensors, cameras and external systems such as building management systems in real time.

By accurately assessing situations and providing optimal instructions, robots are expected to be able to perform a wider variety of tasks. Conventional robots are designed to perform specific tasks and aren’t capable of taking on multiple roles.

SoftBank provides the MEC environment and has developed a vision-language model (VLM), which generates tasks based on sensor data and external information. Yaskawa Electric, a leader in motion control and industrial robotics, has developed vision-language action, which provides robot actions based on instructions from VLM.

The operator is a founding member of the AI-RAN Alliance, which was established in early 2024 to improve RAN performance and capability using AI.

In October its parent SoftBank Group struck an agreement to acquire ABB’s industrial robot business for $5.4 billion.

The post SoftBank, Yaskawa partner to develop versatile robots appeared first on Mobile World Live.

In a statement, SoftBank noted the impact of the takeover on its consolidated financial results is currently under review.

Ampere posted on X it is “proud to be a part of SoftBank Group, enabling Masayoshi Son’s vision for AI and continuing to drive forward with our innovative roadmap for high-performance, energy-efficient AI compute”.

Last week the US Federal Trade Commission halted an investigation into the proposed merger, removing the final obstacle for the deal.

Counterpoint research director Marc Einstein told Mobile World Live the tie-up is another strategic move as Son continues to build his AI empire. SoftBank also has acquired other chip designers, such as UK-based Graphcore in July.

“He’s vertically integrating everything, which means he’s assured revenue across the value chain.”

But Einstein noted the strategy also means the industry is “becoming increasingly circular, which is raising eyebrows”.

The post SoftBank closes Ampere acquisition appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The operator secured an experimental licence for the 7GHz band and started an outdoor verification trial in Tokyo’s Ginza area in June. The test used three experimental base stations supporting Massive MIMO alongside commercial 3.9GHz 5G sites, and test equipment from Nokia to evaluate the continuity of coverage, communication quality and radiowave propagation characteristics, it noted in a statement.

Using a measurement vehicle, it found strong received signal power in line-of-sight areas such as main streets, while signal reception was also achieved in non-line-of-sight areas such as narrow alleys.

It credited the results to the propagation characteristics of the 7GHz band. While diffraction into non-line-of-sight areas was limited, interference between adjacent base stations was less likely to occur, resulting in stable communication quality with minimal degradation, the statement explained.

Overall, the experiment demonstrated that 7GHz signals can provide wide-area coverage with high-quality connections when deployed as high-power macro base stations in urban commercial areas.

Akihiro Nakao, professor at the Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, and co-chair of XG Mobile Promotion Forum, added the evaluation demonstrates the effectiveness of 6G network design using the 7GHz band. “Building on the insights gained from this verification, we will continue to promote the formation of a global 7GHz band ecosystem and its social implementation through co-creation among industry, academia, government and international partners.”

The post SoftBank 7GHz trial shows promise for 6G appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The FTC’s website indicated it granted early termination of the investigation into the proposed merger last week.

The agency opened a formal probe known as a second request for information, raising concerns the deal could be blocked.

In March, SoftBank reached a deal to acquire the chipmaker, which makes processors for servers.

The merger requires clearance by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US.

Analysts say the acquisition will strengthen SoftBank’s AI infrastructure strategy and complements its Arm chip unit by integrating high-performance, energy-efficient server processors based on the Arm architecture.

SoftBank owns a majority stake in UK-based chip design company Arm.

The post SoftBank secures FTC approval for $6.5B Ampere acquisition appeared first on Mobile World Live.

During our Digital Unwrapped week Sasha spoke to Mauro Goncalves Filho, SVP – AI-RAN, SoftBank Telecom America Corp about AI – The Art of the Possible

The post Unwrapped Keynote: SoftBank Telecom America Corp appeared first on Mobile World Live.

In its earnings call, SoftBank CFO Yoshimitsu Goto (pictured), referring to the sale of its holdings in Nvidia, said its OpenAI investment is large. “For that, we do need to divest our existing portfolio so that can be utilised for our financing.”

Founder of industry blog Radio Free Mobile Richard Windsor wrote the sale has not been well received, arguing “the reality is that SoftBank has exited a relatively safe AI investment and bet it all on a proposition where the outcome is very uncertain”.

Goto noted last quarter he said fiscal 2025 would be “a year of acceleration — and that’s exactly what we are seeing”. He said net profit in H2 reached a record high of JPY2.9 trillion.

Net profit in fiscal Q2 2024 was JPY1.2 trillion.

Goto said the value of its investments in OpenAI jumped by $14.6 billion.

Windsor noted that while the company reported excellent results, a large proportion of the profit was driven by unrealised gains on investments, “which history shows can evaporate in a heartbeat”.

Its Vision Funds’ fiscal Q2 profit jumped to JPY2.4 trillion from JPY373.1 billion. The unit’s investment gains rose nearly six-fold to JPY2.8 trillion.

The chip design unit Arm returned to profit in the July to September period, booking a gain of JPY32.3 billion after a loss of JPY6.3 billion a year earlier. Total revenue rose 32 per cent to JPY167.4 billion, with licensing revenue up 56 per cent year-on-year.

The company announced a 4-for-1 stock split effective from the beginning of next year.

The post SoftBank $5.8B Nvidia sale puts AI strategy in spotlight appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Speaking to Mobile World Live on the first day of Unwrapped, Goncalves Filho touted progress the AI-RAN Alliance has made since its inception two years ago, which includes a membership of more than 100 operators and vendors.

“The focus has been on creating blueprints so that all the elements of AI RAN can work together,” he said. “The next big step is to move towards commercialisation and that’s where we’re going.”

He added SoftBank and its partners anticipate a phased approach with “some implementations between now and 6G”.

“It’s probably another couple of years,” Goncalves Filho stated. “It goes with the maturation cycle of the capex that’s already in there”.

“When it comes time to refresh the equipment, I believe we will see a lot of it being substituted with AI-RAN equipment.”

AI RAN in action
The operator already has several AI RAN use cases in the fold, including the deployment of multi-user (MU) MIMO in a live network.

“Within a lab environment that’s clean and controlled, it works very well. We wanted to see it in real life,” he explained. “We went outdoors in a very busy radio environment in Silicon Valley at the Nvidia campus and we tested it outside. It worked pretty well.”

In the deployment, SoftBank confirmed stable operation of MU-MIMO using its AI-RAN product in an outdoor setting.

“It’s working on 16 layers, which, as far as we can tell, is a world first,” he said. “What’s fun about it, it’s all the processing that’s happening on the DU, normal radio interfaces and so on. So, it’s a fully virtualised network”.

“The throughput is three times what it is when we turn off the capability. That means better service for the users and better utilisation of spectrum.”

He said the 16-layer MU-MIMO is particularly useful across high-density environments in places like Tokyo, central London and the Manhattan borough of New York City where dynamic adaptation is critical for maintaining service quality.

“The network is changing all the time,” Goncalves Filho noted. “Those reconfigurations need to happen very quickly. We can only do this because now we can do all these calculations very fast, using parallel compute, very close to where the user is”.

“[It’s] a classic case of AI RAN being deployed to benefit the network”.

The post SoftBank takes driving seat for AI RAN appeared first on Mobile World Live.

On an earnings call, president and CEO Junichi Miyakawa stated revenue and profit increased across all segments, with the company making steady progress towards its full-year forecast and on target to book revenue of JPY7 trillion ($45.5 billion) and operating profit of $1 trillion.

Net profit in the period grew 26.1 per cent year-on-year to JPY203.4 billion, while consolidated revenue increased 7.9 per cent JPY1.7 trillion.

Mobile service revenue was mostly stable at JPY400.9 billion, with ARPU also flat at JPY3,720. Equipment sales increased 11 per cent to JPY190.1 billion.

Its mobile subscriber base grew 7.3 per cent to 57.3 million.

Across the consumer segment, which includes mobile, broadband and electricity, revenue was up 1.7 per cent to JPY757.9 billion.

Revenue from its enterprise and distribution segments increased 7.8 per cent to JPY248.2 billion and 23 per cent to JPY258 billion, respectively. E-commerce sales rose 5.9 per cent to JPY416 billion; its financial business grew 25.4 per cent to JPY98.4 billion.

Miyakawa noted non-telecoms units accounted for 63 per cent of total revenue in fiscal H1, up from 47 per cent in fiscal H1 2020.

Capex in the first six months of fiscal 2025 was unchanged from a year earlier at JPY358.2 billion.

The post SoftBank books record financials appeared first on Mobile World Live.

In a statement, SoftBank Group explained SB OAI Japan will use OpenAI’s advanced AI technology to market an AI technology called Crystal intelligence. The enterprise platform is designed to help organisations improve productivity and management efficiency.

SoftBank Group chair and CEO Masayoshi Son stated the tie-up marks the start of a new era of innovation that will transform how people work and businesses are managed. “Together with OpenAI, we’re driving the AI revolution to the next stage,” with AI agents able to “understand our goals and collaborate with each other to autonomously carry out tasks”.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman noted the JV “will accelerate our vision for bringing advanced AI” to some of the world’s most influential companies, starting with Japan.

Before rolling out Crystal intelligence to domestic clients, subsidiary SoftBank Corp will adopt the technology internally to validate its effectiveness in product development and business transformation, the statement noted.

The JV expects to market Crystal intelligence exclusively in Japan starting in 2026.

SoftBank Group committed to investing $30 billion in a for-profit OpenAI unit in April.

The post SoftBank Group sets up enterprise JV with OpenAI appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Under the deal, Nokia said it will deploy its AirScale RAN platform, with Massive MIMO radios and baseband equipment. The implementation also covers the vendor’s AI-powered MantaRay offering for enhanced network management and self-organising network capabilities.

SoftBank Corp CTO Hideyuki Tsukuda stated the partnership enables it to build a “unique and high-quality” 5G network supported by AI. “The upgraded network will improve efficiency, reduce emissions and deliver a superior user experience.”

Mark Atkinson, head of Radio Access Networks at Nokia, noted its gear, powered by AI capabilities, offers energy efficiency and supports the evolution toward 5G-Advanced networks.

The companies are founding members of the AI-RAN Alliance and also are conducing joint research and field trials of a virtualised RAN platform.

In July, the pair ran a trial in central Tokyo using 7GHz spectrum, a centimetre-wave frequency under consideration for 6G networks, and Massive MIMO technology.

Nokia was among the vendors Rakuten Mobile lined up to deploy a SA 5G network across Japan.

The post SoftBank turns to Nokia for SA 5G expansion appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The latest cash, previously expected to be paid in December, requires OpenAI to complete a corporate restructuring that would lead to an IPO, the news agency added.

SoftBank previously stated if OpenAI’s restructuring does not take place its investment would be limited to $20 billion.

In early April, the Japanese company committed to investing the $30 billion in a for-profit OpenAI subsidiary, with plans to syndicate $10 billion to co-investors that month. SoftBank also reached a deal to lead the total financing of up to $40 billion.

At the time SoftBank stated it positioned OpenAI as its most important partner and had invested $2.2 billion in total through the SoftBank Vision Fund 2 since September 2024.

The post SoftBank approved to raise OpenAI investment to $30B appeared first on Mobile World Live.

In a statement, the companies explained under the partnership they will “jointly define and promote” R&D across four areas: 6G, AI for RAN, AI and RAN, and SoftBank’s large telecoms model.

SoftBank CTO Hideyuki Tsukuda noted by combining expertise, the pair will “accelerate the realisation of next-generation networks that evolve to become more efficient and highly reliable through AI-RAN”.

Jeong Jin-guk Jeong, head of Samsung’s Advanced Communications Research Centre, added the tie-up aims to “define meaningful use cases” for operators and end-users, while securing key technologies for future commercialisation.

The operator and Samsung, Nokia and Ericsson are founding members of the AI-RAN Alliance, which was established in early 2024 to improve RAN performance and capability using AI.

The post SoftBank, Samsung partner on AI-RAN appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Together with Kiyohara Optics and ArkEdge Space, the group will develop optical wireless communication devices and related applications for both satellites and high-altitude platform stations (HAPS).

The device, being developed jointly by NICT, Kiyohara Optics and SoftBank, is designed to be compact, lightweight and energy-efficient, while delivering high-speed bidirectional communication at 10Gb/s, the operator explained in a statement.

The demonstration satellite, a miniaturised type under development, will incorporate advanced attitude control technologies required to support optical wireless communications.

ArkEdge Space will handle the design and development of a micro-satellite platform, launch coordination and satellite operations, while SoftBank will be responsible for HAPS flight operations and integration of equipment.

In 2027, the group plans to mount optical wireless communication devices on HAPS to verify bidirectional optical wireless communications between space and the stratosphere.

Last month, the operator completed a test of a six-cell communications payload designed to deliver 5G wireless communications from the stratosphere to the ground.

Earlier this month, Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation selected a SoftBank R&D proposal for developing next-generation batteries and solar cells to support long-duration HAPS flights.

The post SoftBank partners for LEO satellite launch in 2026 appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Verizon makes Dan Schulman CEO

What happened: Verizon appointed former PayPal CEO Dan Schulman as its chief, replacing Hans Vestberg after seven years at the helm.

Why it matters: Verizon’s board highlighted Schulman’s digital expertise and track record in scaling platforms, citing his time at PayPal, Virgin Mobile USA, AT&T, and T-Mobile US. Schulman pledged to sharpen Verizon’s value proposition, cut costs, and optimise capital allocation. Vestberg will remain with the company until October 2026 to assist with completing the operator’s acquisition of Frontier Communications, expected in the early part of the year. Analysts noted Vestberg’s tenure was marked by “missteps” including heavy spectrum spending and subscriber losses, allowing rivals to claim leadership in 5G and customer additions. Roy Chua, AvidThink founder and principal analyst, told MWL the change was unsurprising, citing Verizon’s slide from market leader to third place under Vestberg’s leadership, while Recon Analytics’ founder and analyst Roger Entner linked the timing to looming Q3 results. Meanwhile, Daljeet Saran, strategic advisor at Assessfy, stated that with Schulman at the helm, Verizon will be able to “lead with digital expertise, not just network scale”.

SoftBank to acquire ABB robot unit for $5.4B

What happened: SoftBank Group struck a deal to acquire ABB’s industrial robotics unit for $5.4 billion as the Japanese conglomerate intensifies its push into AI and automation.

Why it matters: The transaction, subject to regulatory clearance in the US, European Union and China, is expected to close in mid to late 2026. Earlier this year, ABB announced plans to spin off its robotics division, which employs about 7,000 staff and generated roughly 7 per cent of the company’s revenue in 2024. The move marks SoftBank’s re-entry into robotics after its acquisition of French robotics firm Aldebaran in 2012, which later produced humanoid robot Pepper. “That acquisition is widely regarded as having been pretty unsuccessful and SoftBank will certainly hope for a better return on their latest investment,” noted Tom Thorne, executive search consultant at Wenham Carter Group. While that venture failed to scale commercially, SoftBank stated it is poised “reignite the robotics business’s growth” through investment in AI and advanced technologies.

Preview: MWC25 Las Vegas event heats up across AI, APIs, satellites

What happened: The GSMA is gearing up to open MWC25 Las Vegas next week at a new $3.7 billion venue, the Fontainebleau Las Vegas hotel, with three central themes: connected industries, AI and connected enablers.

Why it matters: GSMA CMO Lara Dewar stated: “We’ve tailored this year’s event agenda to meet the evolving needs of senior business leaders and C-suite executives across North America.” This year’s programme is structured to emphasise thought leadership, with a sharper focus on executive-level networking and tangible business results, she explained. The event will run over two days and attendees can expect summits on smart aviation, agentic AI, eSIM, private wireless networks and satellite connectivity. The programme will also see the return of the Tech Careers Bootcamp, held in partnership with Verizon, to promote wireless industry careers. With AI and automation at the forefront, GSMA is placing an emphasis on scaling real-world deployments. “The important and truly exciting thing I’m increasingly seeing is technical innovation turn into real, tangible impact,” Dewar said. With mobile technologies forecast to contribute $11 trillion to global GDP, nearly doubling last year’s figure, the GSMA is framing telecoms as a central enabler of enterprise transformation.  

The post Verizon CEO switch; SoftBank robots charge; Vegas set for MWC25 appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The deal is expected to close in mid to late 2026.

SoftBank Group’s board approved the acquisition, which requires standard regulatory approvals, including in the European Union, China and the US, and other customary closing conditions.

In a statement, the company explained the acquisition is part of its overall investment strategy and is expected “to significantly strengthen” its AI robotics business. SoftBank Group added it is well-positioned to “reignite the robotics business’s growth”, particularly through investment in cutting-edge technologies such as AI.

ABB in April unveiled plans to spin off its robot division, which has about 7,000 employees and accounted for around 7 per cent of the group’s revenue in 2024.

Earlier in the year, SoftBank Group led a funding round of Skild AI with a $100 million investment. Nvidia and Samsung also joined the Series B round.

The Japanese company also has investments in SoftBank Robotics, Berkshire Grey, AutoStore and Agile Robots.

The post SoftBank to acquire ABB robot unit for $5.4B appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The operator is due to work with battery manufacturer Enax, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology and solar power systems maker Choshu Industry to develop high-energy density battery packs and high-efficiency solar cells for HAPS.

Also on the list is research of modularisation technologies which reduce weight and improve durability in the stratosphere.

The R&D project is part of a NEDO initiative to develop and verify maritime location technology using high-altitude unmanned aircraft, a four-year project due to commence in fiscal 2025 (the year to end-March 2026).

Following a feasibility study, there are aims to conduct a stratospheric demonstration in fiscal 2028.

Last month, SoftBank conducted a field trial which advanced its 5G HAPS ambitions.

The post Japan taps SoftBank HAPS power proposal appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Reuters noted the layoffs differ from prior job cuts because they follow SoftBank returning to profit in fiscal Q1 2025 (ending 30 June), booking JPY421.8 billion ($2.9 billion) driven by gains in its Vision Funds portfolio and other investments including increased stakes in Nvidia and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.

The news outlet stated Vision Fund staff currently stand at about 300, down from more than 500 in 2022 following staff cuts that year and in 2023.

In 2020, the Vision Fund cut 80 jobs, or 15 per cent, of its headcount after recording its worst-ever annual loss in its fiscal 2019, the year to end-March 2020.

SoftBank’s shift toward capital‑intensive AI infrastructure is demonstrated in its $9.7 billion investment in OpenAI through Vision Fund 2, the news agency stated.

Reuters suggested the restructuring signals a shift away from a broad portfolio of start-up investments, with the smaller team focused on AI initiatives.

SoftBank is part of the Stargate project, a joint venture with OpenAI and Oracle, which are building AI infrastructure, with an initial investment of $100 billion.

The post SoftBank cuts Vision Fund staff for AI focus appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Its latest test was for a six-cell communications payload intended to deliver 5G wireless communications from the stratosphere to the ground.

The company noted it “integrates equipment for a service link,” which connects the HAPS platform to mobile devices, with a feeder link connecting it to a “ground gateway” which provides the link to a base station.

SoftBank’s test was conducted in Tokyo and used a light aircraft (pictured) flying at an altitude of 3,000 metres.

With the addition of “footprint fixation technology” the company noted the trial “proved its newly developed payload can provide wide-area and stable communication services from the sky”.

It reported a mobile device on the ground recorded an average downlink speed of 33 Mb/s at a location 15km from the centre of the aircraft’s circling path.

SoftBank noted the result “confirmed that end-to-end 5G communication via the service link and feeder link is possible even at the edge of the coverage area”.

Its development is the latest towards a goal of providing multicell payloads for HAPS platforms capable of providing coverage across a diameter of up to 200km.  

The company plans to use the results of the trial to work on further improvements to the payload with the aim of capacity improvements in future commercial services.

The post SoftBank continues to propel HAPS technology appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Google packs more Gemini AI into new Pixel 10 devices

What happened: Google launched its Pixel 10 range of smartphones which featured its newest advanced AI capabilities, refreshed designs and improved camera technology.

Why it matters: The smartphone turf war is coming down to the company which can fit the most AI features into devices, and Google is clearly winning the battle against Apple. Among the Pixel 10′s new AI features is Magic Cue which integrates across apps to provide timely, context-aware information and actions, such as displaying flight details during calls or finding photos instantly. Google stated the latest version of its Gemini Nano model and its Tensor G5 chip work together to run Magic Cue privately and securely on the devices. For the smartphone camera, Google announced Camera Coach which uses Gemini AI to guide users on photo composition and framing while also recommending the best angle and lighting. “Google is pushing the boundaries of premium devices, especially in camera and AI integration, leveraging Gemini and showcasing that the promise of a universal agentic AI assistant can actually be in your hands today,” noted IDC analyst Nabila Popal.

SoftBank to take $2B stake in Intel

What happened: SoftBank Group forged a deal to acquire $2 billion in Intel stock, in a move that backs the troubled chipmaker while further expanding the Japanese company’s footprint in the US.

Why it matters: SoftBank chair and CEO Masayoshi Son stated Intel has been a trusted leader in innovation for more than 50 years. He added the investment “reflects our belief that advanced semiconductor manufacturing and supply will further expand in the United States, with Intel playing a critical role”. The past few weeks have been a whirlwind for Intel as US President Donald Trump called for CEO Lip-Bu Tan to resign but then reversed course as his administration is now considering a 10 per cent stake in the chipmaker.

 Meta shakes up AI group to chase superintelligence effort

What happened: Meta Platforms carved up its freshly formed AI group into four separate teams as part of the company’s plan to utilise recent hires from competing players.

Why it matters: Bloomberg reported the new teams are designed to ramp up Meta Platforms’ ambition to develop AI-based personal superintelligence for users. The news agency cited an internal memo by chief AI officer Alexandr Wang which stated Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL) now has four distinct parts. The Information reported the move marks Meta Platforms’ fourth AI pivot over the past six months as CEO Mark Zuckerberg is seeking to close the gap on rivals OpenAI, Google and Microsoft. Following the formation of the new teams, Meta paused its AI hiring effort after adding 50 engineers and researchers from rivals. Analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities told CNBC Meta is in “digestion mode” following its AI spending spree.

The post The Friday File: Pixel 10 packed with AI; SoftBank invests in Intel appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The operator explained it used a high-performance transformer AI model for wireless signal processing, asserting its latest demonstration as a major step forward for AI RAN, taking it from concept to practical implementation.

SoftBank highlighted its test demonstrated “real-time operation in a live wireless environment compliant with 3GPP 5G standards and a significant improvement in communication quality”.

In a previous experiment it achieved a 20 per cent uplink throughput improvement compared with conventional signal processing using a convolutional neural network.

The company explained the transformer-based architecture employed was “run on GPUs and tested in a live over-the-air environment”.

It delivered a boost of 30 per cent on uplink throughput against the baseline and ultra-low latency.

In a separate test of the architecture in a simulated environment, SoftBank noted downlink throughput for a terminal moving at 80 km/h improved by around 29 per cent.

The demonstrations form part of an AI for RAN R&D drive.

It noted the “most significant technical challenge for the practical application of AI for RAN is to further improve communication quality using high-performance” models, while “operating under the real-time processing constraint of less than one millisecond”.

The company stated it “addressed this by developing a lightweight and highly efficient transformer-based architecture that focuses only on essential processes, achieving both low latency and maximum AI performance”.

The post SoftBank hails test as AI RAN breakthrough appeared first on Mobile World Live.

In a joint statement, the companies noted they signed a definitive securities purchase agreement, with SoftBank to pay $23 per share of Intel common stock.

SoftBank Group chair and CEO Masayoshi Son stated Intel has been a trusted leader in innovation for more than 50 years. He added the investment “reflects our belief that advanced semiconductor manufacturing and supply will further expand in the United States, with Intel playing a critical role”.

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said: “We are very pleased to deepen our relationship with SoftBank,” a company at the forefront of so many areas of emerging technology and innovation.

The deal is subject to standard closing conditions.

The investment comes a day after SoftBank reportedly acquired a factory in Ohio from Foxconn which it will use to build AI data centre equipment under the $500 billion Stargate project.

The US government reportedly is looking at a stake in Intel by converting a portion or all its funding from the US CHIPS and Science Act.

Earlier in the month, Bloomberg reported Ericsson held talks with Intel about taking a minority stake worth hundreds of millions of dollars in the US company’s planned network and edge spin-off.

Intel announced plans to cut more than 20 per cent of its staff earlier in the year, after shedding 15,000 workers at the end of 2024.

The post SoftBank to take $2B stake in Intel appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Nikkei Asia reported Foxconn chair Young Liu had confirmed the news to reporters, after Bloomberg first broke the story.

Foxconn stated earlier this month it had struck a deal to sell the factory and associated machinery for $375 million, but it did not name a buyer. The factory was previously used to develop EVs.

Liu stated Foxconn will run the factory for SoftBank, and it had been working with the Japanese company on the project for the past six months.

He added the Ohio plant had the necessary electricity and land needed to build AI infrastructure, and the timing was now right as Stargate “can’t wait for too long”.

Trump unveiled the Stargate joint venture in January, bringing together OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle to build out AI infrastructure with investment in the project earmarked to reach $500 billion over the next four years.

Bloomberg reported SoftBank has been looking at a number of potential data centre sites to serve as a flagship for Stargate over the past eight months, taking into account access to water, power and telecoms networks.

Indeed, when Trump first revealed Stargate SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son said his company alone would invest $100 billion in the US on AI-related infrastructure.

However, concerns have been raised over Stargate and momentum has stalled due to the impact of US tariffs, cheaper AI models emerging from China and question marks over financing raised by Elon Musk and others.

The post SoftBank buys Foxconn US factory to fuel Stargate appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The Japanese company registered a net profit of JPY421.8 billion ($2.9 billion), a huge turnaround from a loss of JPY174.3 billion a year earlier.

Its Vision Funds recorded a profit of JPY451.4 billion, compared with a loss of JPY204.3 billion in the same period the previous year. Gains on Vision Funds in the April to June quarter jumped to JPY726.8 billion from JPY1.9 billion in fiscal Q1 2024.

Net sales increased 7 per cent year-on-year to JPY1.8 trillion.

Its chip design unit Arm registered a 12.2 per cent increase in sales to $1.1 billion, with royalty revenue growing 25.2 per cent to $585 million and licence revenue stable at $478 million.

The group’s earnings report noted Arm increased R&D investments as it develops next-generation technologies to support growth. With capex growing faster than revenue, it reported a segment loss.

The post SoftBank Group returns to profit appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Miyakawa noted given the company’s earnings typically rise in the second half, “we believe the results represent a strong start to the year”.

For the fiscal year ending 31 March 2026, it forecasts net profit to increase 2.6 per cent to JPY540 billion ($3.7 billion) and revenue to rise 2.4 per cent to JPY6.7 trillion.

Net profit in fiscal Q1 dropped 10.6 per cent year-on-year to JPY145.3 million. The decline was attributed to one-off factors, including gains from the sale of subsidiaries a year earlier. Total revenue grew 8 per cent to JPY1.7 trillion.

Jefferies suggested in a research note that with Japan’s mature telecoms market offering limited subscriber growth and intense price competition, SoftBank’s diversified model covering mobile, broadband, IT, media and financial services, provides resilience.

Mobile revenue increased 1.3 per cent to JPY397.5 billion, aided by a 3 per cent increase in mobile subscribers to 31.9 million and stable APPU.

Regarding its move to standalone 5G, in its earnings call Miyakawa stated the operator wants to migrate as soon as possible to take advantage of low latency and network slicing technology, but it is taking time.

“Sometimes we build networks focusing on speed. Sometimes you may want to build a network to have a better capacity”, he explained, adding when rolling out SA 5G it focused on reliability.

The enterprise business grew 8 per cent to JPY233.8 billion, while its media and e-commerce unit increased 2 per cent to JPY406.9 billion.

Sales from its financial and distribution units rose 23 per cent and 12.2 per cent respectively, to JPY91.3 billion and JPY247.9 billion.

The post SoftBank confident of profit turnaround in H2 appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The new commercial agreement covers low-, mid- and high-band frequencies, expanding SoftBank’s standalone (SA) 5G coverage and support for automation and operational efficiency improvements using AI, Ericsson stated.

SoftBank CTO Hideyuki Tsukuda explained the upgrade will focus on SA 5G deployment and AI utilisation.

The vendor will supply lightweight and ultra wide-band TDD massive MIMO radios and its latest generation RAN Compute basebands in Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, Hokuriku, Tokai and parts of the Kansai region.

It added the RAN Compute boosts data storage and parallel processing capabilities, enabling real-time AI execution in the baseband, making AI deployment easier and more energy efficient.

Ericsson in May announced plans to expand its R&D investment in Japan, with initial plans to create up to 300 jobs in the telecoms sector.

The post SoftBank taps Ericsson for network upgrade appeared first on Mobile World Live.

CA technology enables high-speed, stable communication by simultaneously using multiple frequency bands, requiring predefined associations between base stations. But as the number of base stations rises, determining the optimal CA link configuration becomes exponentially more complex, the operator explained.

In a proof-of-concept trial, SoftBank used an Ising machine design to perform combinatorial optimisation to generate a CA link configuration. This was then used to simulate the CA-capable coverage area.

The simulation confirmed CA could be made available over a broader area than when using conventional configurations.

When the method was applied to 5G base stations operating in a specific area of Tokyo the CA coverage area expanded, with data transmission capacity increasing by up to 50 per cent and the average downlink data speed improving by about 10 per cent compared to conventional settings.

Looking ahead, SoftBank noted it also will consider applying quantum computing technologies for operational enhancements.

The post SoftBank uses quantum tech to boost 5G capacity appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The platform will initially be used by SoftBank’s subsidiary SB Intuitions, which develops large language models (LLMs) in Japanese.

SoftBank noted it built the AI platform with a total of more than 10,000 Nvidia GPUs, delivering a combined computing capability of 13.7 exaflops. In September 2023, it deployed a DGX SuperPOD equipped with 2,000 Ampere GPUs and in October 2024 added 4,000 Hopper GPUs.

The subsidiary released LLMs with approximately 460 billion parameters in fiscal 2024 (ending 31 March 2025), with plans to offer commercial model Sarashina mini with 70 billion parameters in fiscal 2025.

Last week at SoftBank World 2025, president and CEO Junichi Miyakawa stated AI agents would usher in a social transformation that surpasses the ones brought by previous industrial revolutions.

He added AI had progressed from merely “the expansion of knowledge, using knowledge models, to acquiring reasoning abilities that think independently with autonomous models.” 

The post SoftBank builds largest Nvidia Blackwell HPC system appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The outdoor trial was conducted in June 2025, with SoftBank installing three 7GHz compatible pre-commercial base stations in central Tokyo and deployed Massive MIMO technology to evaluate how 6G area coverage comparable to 5G can be deployed in urban areas.

SoftBank explained centimetre waves are radio waves with wavelengths between 1cm and 10cm with frequencies of 3GHz to 30GHz. Within this range, the 7GHz band to 24GHz band is “emerging as a candidate for next-generation mobile networks”.

It added the specific band used for its trial is due to be discussed at the ITU-R’s World Radiocommunication Conference in 2027 as a potential 5G frequency and is “therefore gaining global attention”.

The 7GHz band apparently offers significantly broader bandwidth than 5G’s sub-6 bands, making it well suited for high-speed communication and reliable area coverage.

“The 7GH band is viewed as a promising 6G solution that balances both capacity and coverage” in areas that are subject to high mobile data traffic and dense urban environments facing increasing challenges in signal penetration due to building congestion, added SoftBank.

The post SoftBank makes 6G inroads with 7GHz trial appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The news agency noted only a small percentage of proposed acquisitions face such an investigation, which can prompt lawsuits to block buyouts.

SoftBank’s deal also requires clearance by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US.

The Japanese company reached a deal to acquire Ampere Computing for $6.5 billion in March.

At the time, it said the deal aligns with its broader strategic vision, and commitment to driving innovation in AI and computing.

Ampere makes high-performance, energy-efficient AI compute based on the Arm platform.

SoftBank holds a majority stake in UK-based chip design company Arm.

The post SoftBank Ampere move faces US hurdles appeared first on Mobile World Live.