Venture Capital · Profile from Venture Capital Research Companion
SoftBank Vision Fund (SoftBank Group Corp.)
Masayoshi Son's investment machine. It turned a $20m bet on Alibaba (2000) into the most profitable venture investment ever recorded, then used that fortune and Gulf sovereign money to build the ~$100bn Vision Fund (2017), which redefined late-stage venture through "capital as a weapon" (Uber, DoorDash, Coupang, ByteDance). It also produced spectacular failures (WeWork, Greensill, Katerra) and, from 2025, concentrated SoftBank's balance sheet on OpenAI.
At a glance
- Founded
- SoftBank: September 1981, Tokyo, as a PC-software distributor. SoftBank Vision Fund 1: announced October 2016, first close May 2017. Vision Fund 2: 2019
- Founders
- Masayoshi Son (founder, chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group). Vision Fund architect Rajeev Misra (ex-Deutsche Bank) with Son
- Headquarters
- SoftBank Group: Tokyo (Minato-ku). The Vision Funds are advised by SoftBank Investment Advisers (SBIA), headquartered in London with offices in San Mateo/San Carlos, Tokyo, Shanghai, Singapore and elsewhere
- Ownership / structure
- SoftBank Group Corp. is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (9984), and Son is the largest shareholder (~30%, reported). SVF1 is a Jersey/UK-structured limited partnership with external LPs (PIF, Mubadala, Apple, Qualcomm, Foxconn, Sharp and others). SVF2 is funded almost entirely by SoftBank, with Son holding a personal economic interest (reported). There is also a separate Latin America Fund
- Leadership (2026)
- Masayoshi Son (chairman and CEO, SoftBank Group). Alex Clavel, sole CEO of SBIA and SoftBank Global Advisers since Rajeev Misra's exit in November 2024. Yoshimitsu Goto (SBG CFO)
- AUM / capital raised
- SVF1: $98.6bn committed. SVF2: ~$50bn+ (mostly SoftBank capital; reported). LatAm Fund: ~$5–8bn (reported). Cumulative OpenAI commitment: ~$64.6bn for ~13% (reported, 2026)
- Stage focus
- Late-stage growth "mega-rounds" ($100m–$10bn+), with some earlier-stage investments in SVF2. SoftBank's earlier venture activity (1995–2015) ranged from early stage (Yahoo, Alibaba) to growth (Coupang, Didi, Ola, Paytm)
- Signature investments
- Yahoo (1995–96), Alibaba (2000), Supercell (2013), Arm (acquisition, 2016), Nvidia (2017 public stake), Uber, DoorDash, Coupang, ByteDance, Didi, Paytm, OYO, Grab, Klarna, OpenAI. Failures: WeWork, Greensill, Katerra, Wag, Zume, Brandless, Wirecard (2019 convertible), Fair, View
10 deals and moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
1995
Yahoo
Early Investment and Yahoo Japan JV
2000
Alibaba
Early Venture Round
2015
Coupang
Growth Investment
2017
WeWork
Growth Mega-Round
2018
ByteDance
Late-Stage Growth
2018
DoorDash
Series D
2018
Katerra
Series E
2018
Uber
Primary and Tender Offer
2019
Greensill
Growth Investment
2024
OpenAI
Growth and Mega-Round