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Take-Two Interactive Software ended its 2026 financial year with a sharp rise in net bookings and revenue, as sustained demand for NBA 2K, Grand Theft Auto and Zynga’s mobile portfolio strengthened the company’s position ahead of the planned launch of Grand Theft Auto VI later this year. The New York-based games publisher reported fiscal-year net bookings of $6.72 billion for the year ended March 31, 2026, up […]

SoftBank Group shares rose to a record high as investors priced in the prospect of major gains from potential public listings of OpenAI and SB Energy, reinforcing Masayoshi Son’s return to the centre of the global artificial intelligence trade.

The Tokyo-listed investment group has become one of the most closely watched proxies for AI demand after committing tens of billions of dollars to OpenAI and building exposure across chips, power infrastructure, robotics and data-centre supply chains. The latest rally extended a sharp two-session advance that added tens of billions of dollars to SoftBank’s market value, marking one of its strongest runs since the technology boom that first made the group a symbol of risk-taking capital.

Investor enthusiasm has been driven by two linked expectations. OpenAI is preparing for a confidential US initial public offering filing that could set up a listing as early as September, while SB Energy, a power and data-centre infrastructure company backed by SoftBank and OpenAI, has said it intends to confidentially file for a US IPO. Together, the developments have strengthened the market view that SoftBank’s private holdings may be moving closer to public-market price discovery.

SoftBank’s OpenAI position is the main driver of that reassessment. The group has invested $34.6bn in the ChatGPT maker since September 2024 and has agreed to make a further $30bn investment through SoftBank Vision Fund 2. Completion of those tranches would lift its cumulative investment to $64.6bn for an ownership interest of about 13 per cent. The preferred shares are designed to convert automatically into common shares if OpenAI completes an IPO or related listing transaction.

OpenAI’s valuation has become central to SoftBank’s investment case. The company was valued at $852bn in private markets and preliminary discussions around a listing have included the possibility of a valuation as high as $1tn. The company is also seeking to raise at least $60bn at the lower end of earlier discussions, reflecting the huge capital needs of frontier AI model development, data centres, chips and power supply.

The OpenAI bet has already reshaped SoftBank’s earnings profile. The group reported a sharp profit rebound, helped by valuation gains tied to OpenAI, and said cumulative gains on the investment had reached $45bn. Its annual profit of about ¥5tn was described by the company as the highest recorded by a Japanese company, underscoring how quickly Son’s AI strategy has altered investor perceptions after years of scrutiny over the Vision Fund’s uneven performance.

SB Energy has added another layer to the rally because its business sits at the intersection of AI and power infrastructure. Founded in 2019, the company develops large-scale energy and data-centre projects and has positioned itself to benefit from surging electricity demand linked to AI workloads. It has raised more than $18bn in project capital and has a portfolio of about 5 gigawatts of operating and under-construction energy assets.

The company’s January partnership with OpenAI under the Stargate initiative placed it inside a broader push to build AI and energy infrastructure in the United States. That has made SB Energy more than a conventional renewable power developer in the eyes of investors. Its appeal rests on the argument that AI expansion will require dedicated power generation, grid connections and purpose-built campuses capable of supporting high-density computing.

SoftBank’s rally has also been supported by strength in Arm Holdings, the UK chip designer in which the group holds a large stake. Arm remains a key public asset for SoftBank and is viewed as a beneficiary of AI-related semiconductor demand. Gains in Arm shares have helped reinforce confidence that SoftBank owns multiple assets tied to the same structural theme, rather than a single concentrated wager on OpenAI.

The optimism carries risks. OpenAI faces intensifying competition from Alphabet’s Gemini, Anthropic’s Claude and other model developers, while the cost of training and operating advanced AI systems continues to rise. Credit analysts have raised concerns that the size of SoftBank’s OpenAI commitment may affect liquidity and asset quality, particularly as the group uses loans, asset sales and financing backed by holdings such as Arm and SoftBank Corp. to fund its strategy.

SoftBank arranged a $40bn bridge loan in March and drew $20bn in April, largely for the OpenAI investment, while also repaying part of that borrowing. The group has sold stakes in holdings including Nvidia and T-Mobile, issued bonds and considered other financing options as it reallocates capital towards AI. Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto has said the group may also explore ways to use its OpenAI assets for financing if market conditions allow.

Australia is moving to extend its domestic gas reservation scheme across liquefied natural gas projects and export arrangements, including volumes tied to existing contracts, sharpening a policy shift aimed at easing pressure on households, power generators and manufacturers exposed to volatile east coast gas prices. The draft design framework for the scheme requires LNG exporters to supply gas equal to 20 per cent of their export volumes […]

Mohammad Yahya’s PFL MENA debut ended in frustration at Coca-Cola Arena as Tunisia’s Mehdi Saadi edged the Dubai-based fighter by split decision in the featherweight tournament headliner, while 18-year-old Zamzam Al Hammadi gave the home crowd a lift with a unanimous decision victory in her women’s strawweight amateur showcase. The mixed results at PFL MENA 9: Pride of Arabia on Sunday night underlined both the opportunity and […]

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Abu Dhabi National Oil Co is moving oil, gas and refined fuel cargoes out of the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz using ships linked to its own logistics network, keeping a limited export channel open while one of the world’s most important energy corridors remains under severe strain. Ship-tracking data indicates that vessels associated with ADNOC Logistics & Services have crossed or […]

Dubai Police have warned that selling or promoting counterfeit products through social media and digital marketplaces is a criminal offence, intensifying scrutiny of online accounts that use advertising, influencer posts and informal e-commerce channels to move fake goods across the UAE. The warning, issued through the Anti-Economic Crimes Department at the General Department of Criminal Investigation, targets commercial account owners, advertisers and young social media users who […]

Anthropic’s Claude Mythos Preview has identified more than 10,000 high- or critical-severity software vulnerabilities through Project Glasswing, intensifying debate over whether frontier AI is becoming a defensive breakthrough or a new accelerant for cyber risk. The findings, disclosed after the initiative’s first month of operation, mark a sharp escalation in AI-assisted vulnerability discovery across software used in operating systems, browsers, cloud platforms, open-source projects and financial infrastructure. […]

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Masdar has signed an agreement with China’s Sungrow to supply battery energy storage and photovoltaic inverter systems for Abu Dhabi’s round-the-clock renewable energy project, strengthening the supply chain behind one of the world’s most ambitious attempts to make solar power available as firm baseload electricity. The agreement covers 7.5 gigawatt-hours of Sungrow’s PowerTitan 3.0 battery energy storage systems and 2.6 gigawatts of PV inverter solutions. The equipment […]

British Columbia fusion developer General Fusion is weighing a Toronto Stock Exchange listing alongside its planned Nasdaq debut, a move that would give Canadian investors a direct public-market route into one of the most closely watched private energy technologies. Vancouver-headquartered General Fusion, backed over the years by investors linked to Jeff Bezos and Shopify founder Tobias Lütke, is preparing to go public through a business combination with […]

Dogecoin’s volatile online following has seized on a playful remark by co-creator Billy Markus after he floated the idea of a $20 trillion valuation for DOGE, reigniting speculative debate around the meme token even as its market price remains near a fraction of its 2021 peak. Markus, who posts on X under the name Shibetoshi Nakamoto, is known for sharp, ironic commentary on cryptocurrency culture. His latest […]

Abu Dhabi has cast its departure from OPEC as a strategic move to protect national revenue before global oil demand enters a long-term decline, marking one of the sharpest shifts in Gulf energy policy in decades. The UAE ended nearly 60 years of membership in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on May 1, stepping away from both OPEC and the wider OPEC+ framework after years […]

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Brazilian refiner Acelen has secured $1.5 billion to begin construction of a major biofuels refinery in Bahia, advancing Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala-backed strategy to build a large-scale renewable fuels platform in Latin America. The project, led by Acelen Renováveis, is expected to start operations in 2029 and produce up to 1 billion litres a year of sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel. The financing […]

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Abu Dhabi’s exit from OPEC has placed the UAE at the centre of a wider debate over how Gulf producers should manage oil wealth as long-term demand faces pressure from the energy transition. Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, said the decision was shaped over three years and reflected the leadership’s view that the world is approaching […]

OKX is moving beyond digital assets into oil-linked derivatives through a partnership with Intercontinental Exchange, marking a fresh step in the convergence of crypto trading platforms and traditional commodity markets. The crypto exchange plans to introduce perpetual futures contracts tied to ICE Brent Crude and ICE WTI Crude benchmarks, giving eligible users exposure to two of the world’s most closely watched oil price references without using conventional […]

Hyperliquid’s HYPE token has pushed beyond its former record, turning a sharp 24-hour rally into one of the most closely watched moves in the digital-asset market as trading volumes, exchange activity and listed-product demand converge around the decentralised derivatives platform. HYPE traded above $62 after gaining strongly through the week, surpassing the previous peak near $59 set in September 2025. The move lifted the token into the […]

Binance has launched a SpaceX-linked pre-IPO perpetual futures contract, giving crypto traders synthetic exposure to one of the world’s most closely watched private companies before any public share sale is completed. The product began trading on May 21 under the SPCXUSDT ticker, marking Binance’s first move into a new class of pre-listing derivatives tied to private-market valuations. The contract is settled in USDT and tracks Space Exploration […]

Take-Two Interactive has moved to quiet speculation over another Grand Theft Auto VI delay, reaffirming that Rockstar Games’ blockbuster open-world title remains scheduled for release on 19 November 2026. The confirmation, issued alongside Take-Two’s fiscal 2026 results, places the game at the centre of the company’s next financial year and signals that management is still planning around one of the most consequential launches in entertainment. Chief executive […]

Singapore business leader Teo Siong Seng has been accused by US prosecutors of taking part in a multi-year conspiracy to restrict output and fix prices of standard dry shipping containers, a case that places one of the city-state’s most prominent maritime figures at the centre of a major antitrust action. The indictment names four container manufacturing companies and seven executives in an alleged scheme that prosecutors say […]

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai OHO Sunshine has launched GlobeEar smart glasses as competition intensifies in AI-enabled eyewear, combining real-time translation, Bluetooth audio and everyday lens protection in a single lightweight frame aimed at travellers, commuters and multilingual users. The Cheyenne, Wyoming-based smart eyewear brand is positioning GlobeEar as a daily-use device rather than a specialist gadget. The glasses combine Bluetooth 5.2 open-ear audio, hands-free calling, an AI […]

Google has begun replacing the Fitbit app with Google Health 5.0, marking one of the company’s biggest consumer health software changes since it completed the Fitbit acquisition and moved the brand deeper into its devices and services ecosystem. The update, rolling out from 19 May to 26 May, turns the existing Fitbit app into Google Health rather than requiring users to install a separate application. It brings […]

Shiba Inu is drawing fresh attention from crypto traders after a market analyst said the meme token could enter a high-momentum breakout phase if it clears a long-running resistance structure that has capped its valuation since late 2024. The token was trading near $0.000006 on Friday, with a market value of roughly $3.4 billion and a circulating supply of more than 589 trillion SHIB. The latest technical […]

Washington is testing rival artificial intelligence models across a small group of Defence Department power users as it seeks a workable replacement for Anthropic’s Claude, deepening a high-stakes contest over military AI, supplier risk and control of advanced software inside classified US systems. The review involves 25 heavy users of AI tools inside the Pentagon, with officials comparing how competing models respond to identical tasks and how […]

Google has issued a Chrome security update after fixing multiple flaws that could allow attackers to execute code remotely, disrupt browser sessions, steal information, bypass restrictions or spoof content on affected systems. The update moves Chrome’s stable desktop channel to version 148.0.7778.178/179 for Windows and macOS, and 148.0.7778.178 for Linux. It is being rolled out globally through the browser’s automatic update mechanism, though users and administrators may […]

Caracas has become an unlikely stop for financiers, oil executives and restructuring advisers as Venezuela’s attempt to reopen its economy turns a once-quiet luxury hotel into a meeting point for dealmaking. The Cayena, a boutique property in the capital’s La Castellana district where rooms start at about $400 a night, spent much of its 13 years operating in a market cut off by sanctions, political conflict and […]

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