SoftBank Vision Fund Hit With More Losses

SoftBank reported a net loss of nearly $2.4 billion for its fiscal third quarter, with another quarter in the red for its once-heralded Vision Fund unit.

The Vision Fund unit, famed for its investment in startups including Uber and DoorDash, lost about $2 billion as shares of Coupang and Didi fell.

The losses come just weeks after the White House announced its new $500 billion AI Stargate Project, in which SoftBank is looking to invest $19 billion, per reports.

SoftBank also is looking to invest $40 billion into OpenAI, the ChatGPT creator, at a $260 billion valuation.

The Vision Fund drop is nothing new, as SoftBank has pulled back on investments since 2022 — after interest rates began to rise and venture capital as a whole saw a significant pullback. In mid-2023, founder Masayoshi Son told investors the multinational investment holding behemoth would again shift from “defense mode” as it looks to be a leader in AI and robotics.

Not done yet

Since then, the company has doubled down on AI deals even as it has shifted away from its Vision Fund.

However, just this week SoftBank put its Vision Fund unit back to work. SoftBank and Google Quantum AI both took part in a whopping $230 million round for Boston-based neutral-atom quantum firm QuEra Computing.

The fund unit also took part in this week’s $125 million Series C for AI-powered workflows startup Tines. The new round valued the company at $1.1 billion.

Related Crunchbase Pro list:

• SoftBank Vision Fund Investments 

Related reading

• SoftBank’s Vision Fund Posts $1.7B Loss
• SoftBank May Slowly Be Starting To Play ‘Offense’ In AI Arms Race After Son’s Promise
• SoftBank May Invest Up To $25B Into OpenAI — Report

Illustration: Dom Guzman