SoftBank Group Corp has secured pledges from Microsoft Corp and other investors of around $108 billion for a second Vision Fund aimed at investing in technology firms.
The Japanese conglomerate itself plans to invest $38 billion in the fund, it said in a statement. Others set to join include Apple Inc and Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd (Foxconn) – both investors in the first fund.
The second fund’s investor base reflects diversification beyond the Middle East that provided most of the first $100 billion fund’s outside capital as SoftBank touts industry-beating returns, with joiners including cash rich Japanese financial institutions and a Kazakh sovereign wealth fund.
Masayoshi Son uses artificial intelligence (AI) as a catch-all term to characterise SoftBank’s investment portfolio, which features businesses as varied as ride-hailing and autonomous driving, insurance and healthcare.
MacDailyNews Take: SoftBank in June reported that the initial Vision Fund had earned 62% returns on investments totaling $64.2 billion in 71 deals. Not a bad return. No wonder Apple’s investing in Vision Fund 2!
