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Softbank Group CEO Masayoshi Son (Yuichi Yamazaki/Getty Images)
Weird Money

One guy who has no problem with the OpenAI leadership exodus: Masayoshi Son

SoftBank is back, making a $500 million splash with its OpenAI investment.

Jack Raines

Last Thursday, I wondered whether or not a wave of resignations from key OpenAI executives over the last year, including three last week, would cause investors to hesitate as they considered writing new checks to OpenAI at a $150 billion valuation. At least one investor wasn’t concerned: Masayoshi Son, the founder and CEO of Japanese investing group SoftBank.

The Information reported that SoftBank’s Vision Fund has agreed to invest $500 million in OpenAI’s latest funding round, valuing the company at $150 billion, joining Thrive Capital, which has agreed to invest “more than $1 billion,” as well as Microsoft and other backers.

Son has had an… interesting journey investing in technology companies, to say the least.

Son briefly became the richest man in the world in the late 1990s after betting heavily on tech during the dot-com bubble, but when the bubble burst, he gained the distinction of having lost more money than any other person in history as SoftBank’s stock collapsed 99%. However, Son turned an initial $20 million bet (SoftBank eventually invested a total of $53 million) on Jack Ma’s Alibaba in 2000 into a $72 billion gain by the time the company exited its position in 2023, and in 2020, its 25% stake in Alibaba was worth more than SoftBank’s own market capitalization.

In 2022, SoftBank’s Vision Fund posted a $27.4 billion loss, largely due to poorly-timed investments in different tech companies, such as WeWork, at nosebleed valuations, and in November of that year, Son personally owed his company $4.7 billion. BUT, as with Alibaba, one outsized position saved his portfolio. Softbank acquired British semiconductor company Arm Holdings for $31.4 billion in 2016 and took it public at $51 per share for a $54 billion valuation in 2023, after European regulators blocked an Nvidia acquisition.

Arm is now trading at $138 per share, or a $145 billion market capitalization, thanks to AI tailwinds, and SoftBank still hasn’t sold its 90% stake, which is now worth approximately $130 billion.

Basically the story of SoftBank, over the last 25+ years, has been boom, bust, boom, bust, boom, with Son going all-in on hot markets at sky-high valuations, suffering multi-billion dollar losses when the market turns, and proceeding to make it all back on one well-timed investment. I’m not saying that OpenAI is his 2024 “lose it all” moment, especially considering that he is “only” investing $500 million, and, yes, OpenAI is predicting that its revenue will jump from an estimated $3.7 billion in 2024 to $11.6 billion in 2025 (though let’s not talk about its profitability). But I do think it’s fitting that, while key OpenAI employees are resigning in droves, Apple just pulled out of the funding round, and OpenAI is being valued at the same level as Goldman Sachs, Son is the one new investor ready to lay his money on the line.

Never change, Masayoshi Son.

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J. Edward Moreno

FDA says it will take “decisive steps” against GLP-1 compounders, HHS refers Hims to DOJ for investigation

The Food and Drug Administration said it would take "decisive steps" to restrict GLP-1 compounding, a day after Hims & Hers announced that it would sell copies ofNovo Nordisk’sWegovy pill.

The FDA specifically called out Hims in the announcement. Additionally, Department of Health and Human Services' General Counsel Mike Stuart said in a post on X on Friday he has referred Hims to the Department of Justice "for investigation for potential violations by Hims of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and applicable Title 18 provisions."

In a statement, Hims said the company "has always operated with a deep commitment to the safety and best interests of consumers and in compliance with applicable law."

"We have a long history of successfully working with regulators, and look forward to continuing to engage with the FDA to ensure safe access to affordable healthcare," they said.

This marks a significant shift in tone from the FDA, which has done little to prevent companies like Hims from marketing copies of Novo's lucrative weight loss drugs.

Shares of Hims fell 14% after hours. The stock had already taken a hit after FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said in an X post on Thursday that the agency would “take swift action against companies mass-marketing illegal copycat drugs.”

Read more

Hims, long flying under regulators’ radar, finally strikes a nerve with its Wegovy pill copy

Hims, long flying under regulators’ radar, finally strikes a nerve with its Wegovy pill copy

The FDA specifically called out Hims in the announcement. Additionally, Department of Health and Human Services' General Counsel Mike Stuart said in a post on X on Friday he has referred Hims to the Department of Justice "for investigation for potential violations by Hims of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and applicable Title 18 provisions."

In a statement, Hims said the company "has always operated with a deep commitment to the safety and best interests of consumers and in compliance with applicable law."

"We have a long history of successfully working with regulators, and look forward to continuing to engage with the FDA to ensure safe access to affordable healthcare," they said.

This marks a significant shift in tone from the FDA, which has done little to prevent companies like Hims from marketing copies of Novo's lucrative weight loss drugs.

Shares of Hims fell 14% after hours. The stock had already taken a hit after FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said in an X post on Thursday that the agency would “take swift action against companies mass-marketing illegal copycat drugs.”

Read more
Tasha Matsumoto
2/6/26
Tech rebound propels stocks to best day since May

The S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Russell 2000 all climbed higher as the AI trade was back on.

Chicago Bulls Dennis Rodman (91) and Michael Jordan (23) in action, rebounding vs Charlotte Hornets
Max Knoblauch

Airlines rise, continuing their volatile 2026, as US-Iran talks may foreshadow some oil supply relief

Airline stocks are surging on Friday, as the market appears to be pricing in some medium-term oil pricing relief following talks between the US and Iran. Iranian officials referred to the meeting as “a good beginning.”

Shares of budget carriers, which have tighter margins and are more sensitive to fluctuations in fuel costs, are leading the surge. Frontier Airlines and Allegiant up more than 13%, while major airlines like United Airlines, American Airlines, and Delta Air Lines are also up at least 6%. JetBlue and Alaska Air are similarly up about 6%.

The market more broadly is rebounding on Friday, with the S&P 500 up 1.6% and bitcoin recovering some of this week’s losses.

Airlines have been volatile to start 2026 amid geopolitical tensions, varying annual forecasts, and the impact of winter storms.

markets
Luke Kawa

The AI supply chain is soaring thanks to Amazon’s capex budget

If tech companies are going to spend way more than expected on capex, well, that means other companies are poised to benefit from that massive spending spree.

Amazon’s plan for $200 billion in business investment this year was the exclamation point to end a reporting period that saw every Magnificent 7 hyperscaler that provides guidance offer a 2026 capex budget well above what Wall Street had anticipated.

Here’s a look at the different parts of the supply chain that are soaring on the persistent demand for, and seeming scarcity of, AI compute:

Big Tech capital expenditure soared in 2025. It’s going up another 50% in 2026.

Big Tech capital expenditure soared in 2025. It’s going up another 50% in 2026.

Here’s a look at the different parts of the supply chain that are soaring on the persistent demand for, and seeming scarcity of, AI compute:

markets
Matt Phillips

For memory chips, the “parabolic price hike” is continuing to ramp higher

The remarkable run-up in prices for memory chips continued into early February, analysts at Bernstein Research say, driven largely by data center demand from hyperscalers and cloud service providers (CSP).

Prices for NAND flash memory wafers — a type of memory used in devices, as it retains data even when powered down — soared 35% between the end of 2025 and February 2.

Spot prices for DRAM — ubiquitous short-term data storage chips — jumped about 28% in that period. But that massively understates the remarkable shift in pricing for what were long seen as commodity tech hardware inputs. DRAM prices are more than 2,000% over the last year, while NAND prices are up more than 600% in that period.

The ongoing momentum provides still more support for memory chip plays like Micron and Sandisk, which have been big market winners in recent months.

In a note published earlier this week, Bernstein Research analysts wrote:

“The parabolic price hike continued in Jan. Indicated price increase for 1QCY26 is much stronger than we expected and we hence see upside to our near term memory pricing projection. Unrelenting CSP demand remained the main driver. PC and Mobile demand hasn’t been destroyed yet because of lean inventory & pull-forward purchase. Going forward price hike is expected to continue but likely at a slower rate, as PC and Mobile demand should contract meaningfully this year. Price however may stay elevated throughout this year, supported by CSP demand.”

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