Masayoshi Son, founder and CEO of SoftBank, has indicated his readiness to pass the leadership baton after decades at the helm. Speaking to shareholders in Tokyo, the 67-year-old entrepreneur said he had mentally prepared to step aside and had already identified internal candidates. However, he noted that revealing a successor prematurely could affect dynamics within the company. While succession planning is underway, Son focuses on positioning SoftBank as a global leader in artificial superintelligence (ASI). The company is pursuing aggressive investments, including a proposed $30 billion stake in OpenAI, the acquisition of UK-based Graphcore, and a potential purchase of US firm Ampere Computing. Plans are also in motion to build a central tech hub in Arizona, modelled on Shenzhen, featuring advanced chip infrastructure and a possible partnership with TSMC. SoftBank's reach extends well beyond the US and Japan.