SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son is poised to announce a $100 billion investment in the US, creating 100,000 jobs in AI and related infrastructure. This significant commitment, timed amid shifting investor sentiment and national security concerns, reflects SoftBank’s strategic interest in the US market, echoing a similar 2016 pledge. The investment’s success may depend on navigating political and regulatory landscapes.
SoftBank Group Corp.’s Vision Fund has been quietly selling off billions of dollars’ worth of its publicly-listed holdings, a sign of founder Masayoshi Son’s shift away from the venture capital deals that were once an obsession and toward strategic investments in semiconductors and artificial intelligence. The world’s biggest startup fund has seen its US-listed portfolio shrink by almost $29 billion since the end of 2021, as it sold down stakes in companies such as Coupang Inc., DoorDash Inc. and Grab Holdings Ltd. and share prices fell. The one-time tech kingmaker is now a shadow of its former self, having laid off more than a hundred staff and slowed new investments to a fraction of its past pace. Son is selling off assets from the fund’s portfolio as he prepares for possible forays into AI and related hardware, according to people familiar with the billionaire’s thinking.
