Investing.com — stock surged nearly 19.9% to hit ¥6,039 today after reports surfaced that OpenAI is preparing to make a confidential IPO filing with the SEC as early as Friday, May 22, with a target public debut in the fall — a prospect that directly inflates the mark-to-market value of SoftBank’s massive stake in the AI company. Reports indicate OpenAI is working with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley on the filing, targeting a public debut sometime in the fall, though the exact timing remains uncertain. As a significant shareholder with over a 10% stake in OpenAI, SoftBank stands to gain substantially from any valuation adjustments tied to the listing.
Anticipation surrounding SB Energy, another SoftBank-supported venture reportedly preparing for a confidential IPO filing in the U.S., added further positive sentiment. SB Energy Corp. filed its Form S-1 confidentially with the SEC on May 20, 2026, covering an AI infrastructure platform spanning natural gas power generation, data centers, and energy development. According to Andrew Jackson, head of Japanese equity strategy at Ortus Advisors, SoftBank’s sharp rally is being driven by renewed optimism around a potential OpenAI listing, which also helped propel shares higher. SoftBank also posted record annual profit last week, driven largely by valuation gains tied to its OpenAI stake, providing a strong fundamental backdrop for today’s move.
The surged over 3% on today’s session, briefly rising above 62,000 points, snapping a five-session losing streak. SoftBank’s gain alone contributed approximately 804 points to the index. The overall rise in Japanese tech stocks was also influenced by ’s strong earnings report, which positively affected semiconductor-related stocks. This came in stark contrast to the prior week, when Japanese bond yields surging to historic levels — with breaking above 4% — had weighed heavily on the broader market.
SoftBank’s fortunes are closely tied to the AI boom through its stake in Arm Holdings and its investments in OpenAI. Today’s convergence of the OpenAI IPO catalyst, the SB Energy filing, and Nvidia’s earnings validation of AI infrastructure demand created a rare alignment of company-specific and sector-wide tailwinds, propelling SoftBank to its day high of ¥6,039 — well off its 52-week low of ¥1,835.3 — and bringing its total market capitalization to approximately ¥34.5 trillion.
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