SoftBank launches Vision Fund 2 with US$108bn to invest
Less than a year after the launch of the original fund, prolific Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group has announced a second Vision Fund (VF2) with US$108bn (¥4.1trn) banked and ready to invest.
Where the original $100bn Vision Fund has largely been invested in promising tech companies working on the most cutting-edge solutions, the firm said in a press release that VF2’s objective is to accelerate the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) by investing in “market-leading, tech-enabled growth companies”.
The original fund has enjoyed a series of high-profile investments, including a $9.3bn investment in Uber that saw SoftBank become the ridesharing giant’s biggest shareholder.
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Recent investments include a $425mn injection for Hong Kong-based travel platform Klook, $1.46bn for Singaporean super app Grab and $2bn for Coupang, Korea’s largest ecommerce platform.
SoftBank is invested $38bn in the fund itself, with the remainder comprised of MoUs (Memoranda of Understanding) from participants including, but not limited to: Apple, Foxconn, Microsoft, Mizuho Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, and Standard Chartered.
The company said that additional participants are currently being fielded, with an anticipated boost to the fund’s investment capital.