SoftBank plans to expand Arm CEO's role as it pivots to AI chips
SoftBank Group is considering elevating Rene Haas, the chief executive of its chip design subsidiary Arm, to oversee much of the Japanese conglomerate's international business. Haas would retain his position at Arm while assuming broader operational duties across SoftBank's global operations, according to the Financial Times.
The move reflects founder Masayoshi Son's decision to reposition SoftBank around artificial intelligence infrastructure. Arm, which SoftBank controls, designs chips used across smartphones, cloud computing, and increasingly data centres-making it central to that strategy.
What the expanded role covers
Haas would likely receive a new title at SoftBank Group International. His remit would not include the Vision Fund investment vehicles or the energy business, keeping those capital pools separate from his oversight.
Even with those exclusions, the appointment would make Haas one of Son's closest operating deputies and represent a significant external hire for the Japanese group. The arrangement would tighten coordination between Arm and SoftBank's overseas operations at a time when Son is building scale across multiple layers of the AI value chain.
Project Izanagi accelerates
The reported management change coincides with SoftBank's push on Project Izanagi, an internal initiative to develop AI-capable chips for smartphones and data centres. Yusaku Yamamoto, who runs SoftBank's automated trading division, leads that effort, signalling the urgency with which Son is pursuing the project.
Son has increasingly framed AI as SoftBank's defining opportunity after the Vision Fund shifted from generating outsized returns to posting steep losses. Building or backing chips tailored for AI workloads would give the company more direct exposure to one of the fastest-growing segments of the technology market.
Arm's AI positioning
Arm has already signalled its own ambitions in AI hardware. Last month, the company unveiled an AI-specific chip for data centres developed with Graphcore, saying the project could eventually add billions to revenue. Arm's stock rose more than 10% following that announcement.
SoftBank has also been linked to a planned $30 billion investment in OpenAI through Vision Fund 2. Together, the Haas appointment, Project Izanagi, and the OpenAI exposure point to the same objective: strengthening SoftBank's position in the technologies underpinning the next phase of AI growth.
SoftBank and Arm have not publicly commented on the reported management changes.
For executives navigating AI strategy, understanding how major technology companies are reorganizing around AI infrastructure offers insight into where the market is heading. Learn more about AI for Executives & Strategy or explore AI Learning Path for CTOs to understand the technology leadership decisions driving these shifts.
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