SoftBank CEO Son Says AI Now Designing OpenAI's Next Model, Sees Superintelligence Within 2 Years

SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son said OpenAI's upcoming model is being designed by another artificial intelligence system, signaling a rapid march toward superintelligence. In a CNBC interview published June 6, 2026, Son recounted that OpenAI engineers told him one of their AI models is already architecting the next generation. Son, whose firm is a key OpenAI investor, sharply accelerated his timeline for artificial superintelligence, or ASI. In 2024, he predicted it was a decade away. He now says it will arrive "in the next two years," and that AI will surpass humans in 70% to 80% of knowledge areas, with capabilities 10 times greater in some fields. The SoftBank CEO uses ChatGPT two to three hours daily, stating AI already outpaces him in most tasks. The remarks underscore intensifying debate around AI's exponential growth. Anthropic recently warned that development may need to slow to manage risks.