Masayoshi Son, chairman and chief executive officer of SoftBank Group Corp.Kiyoshi Ota | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesSoftBank Group chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son on Wednesday said that the Japanese investment firm plans to shift from “defense mode” to “offense mode” and wants to capitalize on the AI revolution.”Now, the time has come to shift to offense mode,” Son said during a shareholders’ annual general meeting.”In the past few years, we focused on being [on] ‘defense.’ Three years ago, we didn’t have a lot of cash on hand. But because we have been in defense mode, we have built our cash on hand to five trillion yen ($35.3 billion),” Son said.”We are ready to shift to offense mode. I am excited about that,” said Son.The tech conglomerate, which engages in venture capital investing through its Vision Fund, has had its fair share of ups and downs. It was in “defense mode” as it halted new investments and trimmed its stake in Alibaba. In May, the Vision Fund reported a record $32 billion loss.”What I am interested in most, what I am working on most, is the AI revolution. I believe that mankind is going to be exceeded by computer or AI,” said Son.”We would like to be [in] the leading position for the AI revolution,” said Son …
