Softbank lost 99% when the dotcom bubble burst, now it’s all about AI.
Shares of SoftBank Group Corp. stock traded up 1.5% to reach a new high on Tuesday, July 2nd. The high mark comes a few years after the company saw its stock plummet amid the closure of several high-profile tech startups, including WeWork. and a move by the Chinese government in the technology sector.
Analysts have largely attributed the Japanese company's recent move to artificial intelligence and the performance of its computing sub-arm Holdings.
The need for artificial intelligence
Cointelegraph recently reported that the company's founder and chairman, Masayoshi Son, recently announced that SoftBank will be more involved in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
He told an audience at the company's annual meeting in Tokyo that the company will focus on AI, as Softbank aims and was born to create “artificial super-intelligence.”
According to the comments, the company's shares fell by 3%, but quickly recovered to raise the company's shares to a higher level.
Another bubble?
Analysts worry that the generative AI market could be another bubble about to burst. Products like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Microsoft's Co-Pilot have almost failed to find their killer apps with users.
And, with Nvidia reaching all-time highs and experiencing explosive growth along the way — becoming the fastest company to go from a two-trillion-dollar market cap to three, and only the third — many speculate it's nowhere to be found. But to go horizontally (or down) to the market.
While nothing is certain technologically or financially, like weather forecasting, it is worth noting when conditions align with a negative pressure system. In Softbank's case, interest in the company's holistic approach from investors and shareholders to join forces focused on generative artificial intelligence has paid record-breaking dividends.
But 24 years ago, SoftBank invested heavily in dotcom startups, driving its stock price to all-time highs, and eventually lost 99% of its value when the bubble burst in March 2000.
SoftBank was far from the only company to suffer losses in the dotcom bubble burst and, unlike many of its contemporaries, it is still going strong today. But it should be noted that it took decades for SoftBank Group to recover.
Related: OpenAI Reportedly Seeking Trillions for AI Chip Development
