SoftBank Group shares fell by more than 13% on September 14, 2026, marking the company's largest single-day decline since late June. The drop followed public statements from the leadership of major AI firms regarding development safety and IPO timelines.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published an essay on September 12, 2026, advocating for a slowdown in the development of advanced AI models due to safety concerns. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman supported this position and stated that an immediate IPO for OpenAI would be ill-advised.
SoftBank has invested approximately $65 billion in OpenAI, aiming for a 13% ownership stake. The potential delay of OpenAI's IPO until 2027 impacts SoftBank's liquidity plans and return expectations, as the conglomerate relies on these gains to manage its debt load.
Investors now view SoftBank's stock as a sentiment indicator for the OpenAI IPO. The market is currently reassessing the company's valuation and balance sheet stability in light of the potential for a prolonged development cycle and delayed exit strategy for its AI assets.
