The Vision Fund, founded by SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son, faces a host of headwinds, including rising interest rates, a tough market in China and geopolitics that have sent technology stocks tumbling.
Kentaro Takahashi | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Softbank Its Vision Fund made 7.24 billion yen ($4.6 billion) in the fiscal year ended in March, the first time the flagship technology investment arm has turned a profit since 2021.
SoftBank’s flagship technology investment arm, the Vision Fund, went through a rough patch in the fiscal year ending in March 2023, with the fund losing about $32 billion, a record high, as technology stock prices plummeted and some business bets turned sour. .
However, in the fourth quarter of last year, the Vision Fund posted investment gains for the first time in five consecutive quarters, marking the early stages of a recovery.
SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son said in 2023 that the company will shift from a defensive mode to an “offensive” mode and shed its cautious attitude to start making more investments.
SoftBank Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto said last quarter that SoftBank has shifted from “an Alibaba portfolio to an artificial intelligence-centered portfolio.”
Thanks to Son’s bet on Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba in the early 2000s, the tech conglomerate grew into one of Japan’s largest companies, and the company flourished in the coming years.
The company has been paring its stake in Alibaba, with senior executives including Son and Goto expressing excitement about artificial intelligence technology and the potential for SoftBank to invest in companies in the field.
This breaking news story is being updated.
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