SoftBank Plans Fresh AI Bets After First Investment Gains in 18 Months
Technology-sector rebound emboldens Japanese investor despite overall losses SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son said recently that he had devoted himself to artificial intelligence. Photo: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg News By Megumi Fujikawa Updated Aug. 8, 2023 7:48 am ET TOKYO— SoftBank Group posted its first investment gains in a year and a half and said it would cautiously press ahead with new bets in artificial-intelligence-related fields. The Japanese technology investor reported $1 billion in investment gains at its flagship Vision Fund unit during the April-June quarter, a result that Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto said encouraged the company to look for new places to park its money. “I hope that the tide is turning” in the tech startup sector, Goto said at a pr
SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son said recently that he had devoted himself to artificial intelligence.
Photo: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg News
TOKYO— SoftBank Group posted its first investment gains in a year and a half and said it would cautiously press ahead with new bets in artificial-intelligence-related fields.
The Japanese technology investor reported $1 billion in investment gains at its flagship Vision Fund unit during the April-June quarter, a result that Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto said encouraged the company to look for new places to park its money.
“I hope that the tide is turning” in the tech startup sector, Goto said at a press conference, referring to the recent rebound in technology shares.
In a sign of improving market conditions, the company said the number of companies in its Vision Fund 1, Vision Fund 2 and Latin American funds whose value increased during the latest quarter nearly doubled from the previous quarter.
The Vision Fund unit made investments valued at $1.8 billion in the quarter, compared with $500 million in each of the previous three quarters. It was the first time in six quarters that the unit was profitable.
Overall, SoftBank reported a net loss of 477.6 billion yen, equivalent to about $3.3 billion, for the quarter ended June 30. The yen’s weakness inflated the company’s dollar-denominated debt, while revenue at chip designer ARM declined amid a slowdown in the semiconductor industry.
The company has been wary about making new investments after its holdings were hit hard by higher interest rates and a global tech selloff. In a measure to preserve cash, it completed the sell down of its stake in Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding earlier this year.
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But as the technology sector has recovered, SoftBank has said it is ready to go on the offensive, particularly with investments in artificial intelligence.
On Tuesday, Vision Fund Chief Executive Officer Navneet Govil
said Vision Fund 2 still has about $8 billion for new investments.Chief Executive Masayoshi Son told shareholders at the company’s annual meeting in June that he had devoted himself to AI and making his own inventions, often by talking to AI chatbot ChatGPT.
Goto said SoftBank would select new investments with a stricter eye on their AI technology because some people doubt if SoftBank’s existing investments are truly AI-centric. One recent Vision Fund investment is a deal with Tractable, a U.K. startup that helps insurers process claims using AI.
Preparations for the listing of chip designer ARM in the U.S. are progressing and an announcement will be made soon, Goto said, declining to provide further details.
Write to Megumi Fujikawa at [email protected]
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