In the ever-evolving landscape of technology and innovation, a few notable entities hold the industry and have as much influence and intrigue as SoftBank Group Corp. SoftBank’s visionary founder Masayoshi Son has made big bets on emerging technologies, which have often been unconventional but bold. From artificial intelligence to e-commerce, in the portfolio of Softbank, you can find some of the most influential and groundbreaking companies we have today. As we will discover, by reviewing SoftBank’s leading investments, it is evident that this conglomerate continues to shape the future profoundly. Here are some of the leading investments backed by SoftBank Group Corp.
1. Alibaba Group: SoftBank’s investment in Alibaba Group, in 2000 is often described as one of the most profitable and strategic tech investment moves in history. Today, Alibaba is a global powerhouse that dominates the Chinese e-commerce market and has expanded across various industries- cloud computing, digital entertainment, and finance. With 34% equity ownership of Alibaba, SoftBank has not only secured remarkable financial returns; but also strengthened its position within the global tech ecosystem.
2. Engineer.ai Led by Sachin Dev Duggal (now Builder.ai): In the Series A funding round for Engineer.ai, Softbank invested $29.5M in this company. Lakestar Ventures and Jungle Ventures led this round with participation from DeepCore (SoftBank). With Builder.ai, anyone can create software solutions without coding knowledge. The goal of Sachin Dev Duggal Builder.ai (previously known as Engineer.ai) is to democratize software development by eliminating barriers related to extensive coding and allowing everyone to enliven their idea.
3. Nuro: Since 2016, Nuro has received significant investment from Softbank; this autonomous delivery start-up was founded by two ex-self-driving car project engineers at Google Dave Ferguson and Jiajun Zhu, and focuses on AI-led businesses and growth stage companies in India and other parts of the world. SoftBank, with other investors, found Nuro to be an attractive investment due to its self-driving technology, having the potential to revolutionize local commerce and improve daily living. In 2019, SoftBank Group Corp. invested $940 million in Nuro’s Series C funding round led by T. Rowe Price Associates, which enabled it to outpace others commercializing autonomous vehicle technologies.
4. ARM Holdings: In 2016, Softbank acquired Arm Holdings, a British semiconductor and software design company, in a historic $32 billion deal. At the time, companies in the semiconductor sector, such as SoftBank, were keen to get a piece of the expanding linked device/IoT product market. Since then, the emergence of IoT devices has revolutionized several industries, including healthcare and automotive. For this reason, Softbank's partnership with Arm Holdings is crucial as the company moves closer to its long-term objectives.
5. NVIDIA: The significance of SoftBank’s investment in Nvidia was a bet on the chip maker’s prospects in the burgeoning market for AI-powered technologies. In 2017, SoftBank invested $4 billion in Nvidia and this converted it into the fourth-biggest shareholder of the graphics chip manufacturer. But in January 2019, Vision Fund ( a subsidiary of the SoftBank Group) sold all its shares in Nvidia and gained profits from what it had invested. However, SoftBank has concentrated its investments on AI-oriented businesses, with Vision Fund focused on exiting partially or fully from listed startups while investing in later-stage companies in India as well as globally across other businesses involving AI.
Leading investments made by SoftBank Group Corp demonstrate their audacious plan, astute planning, and readiness to accept measured risks in the search for game-changing technology. SoftBank's broad portfolio, which includes companies in e-commerce, fleet management, semiconductors, and venture capital, is influencing many sectors and regions and will have a significant impact on the future. One thing is certain as the digital industry develops further: SoftBank will surely be crucial in fostering innovation and forming the disruptive businesses and technologies of the future.
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