SoftBank announces new US$108B Vision Fund with Microsoft and Apple as investors
Japan’s tech conglomerate SoftBank Group announced today it plans to launch its second Vision Fund worth US$108 billion, which will have tech giants such as Apple, Foxconn, Microsoft as investors.
The group itself will inject US$38 billion into SoftBank Vision Fund 2, which aims to invest in Artificial Intelligence-based companies.
Other Limited Partners of the fund are Mizuho Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, MUFG Bank, The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, SMBC Nikko Securities, Daiwa Securities Group, National Investment Corporation of National Bank of Kazakhstan, Standard Chartered Bank, and major participants from Taiwan.
The second fund’s focus is in line with SoftBank’s Chairman Masayoshi Son’s recent comments that Japan was lagging in the race to develop AI. The first fund has also ignored Japan in favour of countries such as China, the US and India.
SoftBank launched its maiden Vision Fund in October 2016 and started investing in early 2017. This fund has attracted US$93 billion from investors, including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Apple, and Abu Dhabi. As per a TechCrunch report, the first fund has earned 62 per cent returns to date.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is not an investor in the second Vision Fund.
Early this year, Vision Fund 1 invested US$1.5 billion in Asia’s largest ride-hailing service Grab.
In March this year, SoftBank announced a total of US$500 million fund to back early-stage startups led by Seoul-based SoftBank Ventures Asia.