SoftBank Group Corp. (TYO:9984) shares rose sharply on Thursday, leading gains across Asian technology names after NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang struck an upbeat note when speaking at the World Economic Forum this week.
Softbank jumped over 13%, also rebounding from a 4-½ month low hit in the prior session. The stock was the top performer on the Nikkei 225 index, which jumped nearly 2%.
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Softbank is heavily invested in the AI trade, especially through a $40 billion investment in startup OpenAI and through its ownership of chip design firm Arm. This leaves shares of the firm largely exposed to any shifts in sentiment towards AI.
Broader Asian chipmaking and artificial intelligence stocks also advanced, with Japanese Nvidia supplier Advantest Corp. (TYO:6857) rising nearly 5%, while Tokyo Electron Ltd. (TYO:8035) added 3.5%.
South Korea’s SK Hynix Inc (KS:000660) and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KS:005930) jumped between 2.5% and 4%, while TSMC (NYSE:TSM) (TW:2330) rose 0.6% in Taiwan trade.
Huang, speaking at the WEF in Davos, Switzerland, touted AI for spurring the “largest infrastructure buildout in human history,” and said that the industry’s multi-layered data center buildout was set to continue in the coming months.
Huang also framed AI as “essential national infrastructure,” urging countries to build their own capabilities in the sector.
His comments helped spruce up sentiment towards tech and AI stocks, after the sector logged bruising losses through late-2025 on concerns over stretched spending and circular financing in the industry.
U.S. tech and AI stocks also surged in overnight trade, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rallying 3%. Nvidia soared nearly 3%, while rival AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) surged 7.7%.
