Singularity, the theory of computer intelligence surpassing human brain, would become a reality in the next 30 years, according to SoftBank founder, chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son.

"One of the chips in our shoes will be smarter than us, making our shoes much better than us," Son said in his keynote address at the Mobile World Congress 2017.

"Thats why I am in a hurry to aggregate cash and invest.... I am also looking for partners as I cannot do it alone," he added.

He also said that SoftBank's semiconductor unit ARM will decliner about a trillion chips for the Internet of Things (IoT) over the next 20 years.

"Thats why I spent $32 billion to acquire ARM," he added.

The smartphone market is only expected to grow by 5 per cent in the next five years, compared with 37 per cent in the last 5 years. This would be due to a severe impact on average revenue per user, he said, adding, operators should stress on technology.

Son, jointly with Sudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund would create a $100 billion technology investment fund.

rajesh.kurup@thehindu.co.in