SoftBank Group Corp. (9984.T) is planning to launch its first artificial intelligence (AI) chip through its subsidiary Arm Holdings, aiming to deepen its influence in the global AI technology market. Arm's outstanding performance has significantly boosted SoftBank's estimated net asset value, but investors still need to pay attention to SoftBank's investment strategy and capital allocation.

Arm Holdings plans to develop a prototype of the AI chip by the spring of 2025 and begin mass production in the fall of the same year. This plan is part of SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son's $6.4 billion transformation strategy, which aims to establish SoftBank as a major force in the AI field. To achieve this goal, Arm will create a new AI chip division, leveraging its dominant position in the smartphone processor design market to expand into data centers, robotics, and energy generation sectors.

In terms of technology and market expansion, Arm is negotiating with partners such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC, 2330.TW) to ensure stable production capacity. The initial development costs are expected to reach several hundred billion yen, and SoftBank will provide the necessary financial support. In the long term, the AI chip business might be spun off as an independent entity from SoftBank.

Since Arm's initial public offering (IPO) on NASDAQ (NASDAQ: ARM), its stock price has doubled, driving a 45% increase in the estimated net asset value of its largest shareholder, SoftBank, in the last quarter. The market currently values SoftBank's 90% stake in Arm at $100 billion, even exceeding SoftBank's own market value of $75 billion.

SoftBank currently views Arm as the core of its AI strategy. With the increasing power consumption of data centers, Arm's energy-efficient designs are expected to be adopted more widely. Cloud service giants such as Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) have already introduced server chips based on Arm architecture, further validating Arm's potential in high-performance computing.

Despite Arm's stellar performance and market expansion plans bringing significant added value, investors still need to closely monitor SoftBank's overall investment strategy and capital allocation. In the future, as the AI chip business develops, SoftBank's position in the global AI technology market will be further strengthened.