Masayoshi Son

"Look at a shadow. Even within 24 hours, the length of your shadow differs dramatically, even though your height in 24 hours is unchanged. People get scared or overconfident looking at the length of the shadow."

"It is wrong to say that AI cannot be smarter than humans as it is created by humans. AI is now self-learning, self-training, and self-inferencing, just like human beings."

"ASI is completely different. ASI will be the culmination of a network of AGI models stimulating each other to rapidly accelerate their evolution. While expert opinions may vary, my view is that ASI will be ten thousand times more intelligent than humans and realized in about ten years. The realization of ASI, which will far surpass human wisdom, will mark a turning point in human history. All conventional wisdom will be overturned. In the 200,000-year history of our species, the next ten years will be a critical juncture."

"When I first started the company, I only had two part-time workers and a small office. I got two apple boxes, and I stood up on them in the morning as if I was giving a speech. In a loud voice, I said to my two workers, “You guys have to listen to me because I am the president of this company.” I said, “In five years, I’m going to have $75 million in sales. In five years, I will be supplying 1,000 dealer outlets, and we’ll be number one in PC software distribution.” And I said it very loudly."

"I think I became an entrepreneur because I have my way of doing business. Especially for high-tech ventures, there are no footprints left by anyone else. You have to think and act as you think. To do that, you have to have your own company. But if you have your own company, you’re an outsider in the Japanese business world. It’s difficult. But that’s life."

"People usually compare the computer to the head of the human being. I would say that hardware is the bone of the head, the skull. The semiconductor is the brain within the head. The software is the wisdom. And data is the knowledge."

"Twenty years ago, people were saying, Amazon, why is it an internet company? It’s just a retail company, right? Today, people say, oh, it’s just transportation. It’s just real estate. It’s other obvious things, with AI used only a little bit. But you have to understand this is just the beginning."

"While evolution and multiplication are vital for business growth, it is the concept of evolution that holds particular importance for the future of humanity. Back in the autumn of 2022, I experienced a crisis of confidence, and I was filled with self-doubt. However, today, I am more energized than ever because I realized our ultimate mission: the evolution of humanity. What greater cause could there be? This mission will be accomplished through the realization of artificial super intelligence (ASI)—AI that is ten thousand times more intelligent than human wisdom. Ever since, I have been grappling daily with the challenge of realizing ASI. It feels like solving an intricate set of simultaneous equations."

"Despite people’s view that SoftBank might be struggling, we continue to grow. Don’t think about the past."

"Today already, computer is smarter than mankind for chess or go, or weather forecast. For some expert systems, computer is already smarter. But in 30 years, [in] most of the subjects that we are thinking, they will be smarter than us. Thats my belief."

"But I still want to support entrepreneurs -- entrepreneurs with dreams and passion. Technology is moving very fast. So if I can be a good promoter or supporter, then I would be very happy to do so."

"I review our most important performance indicator, Net Asset Value (NAV), every day without fail. NAV represents shareholder value, calculated as the equity value of holdings minus net interest-bearing debt. Our primary objective at SBG is to maximize NAV. How do we achieve this? We focus on two key strategies: evolution and multiplication. Evolution involves continuously refining our business model to offer something unique. Multiplication refers to leveraging our sales capability to effectively market and distribute this unique value."