Masayoshi Son has had a busy year even by the standards of Japan’s most prolific investor. On Thursday in Tokyo, he took time to explain how it all fits together.
In the past six months, Softbank Group Corp has invested in businesses ranging from ride sharing, co-working and robotics to agriculture, cancer detection and autonomous driving.
The 59-year-old took the stage at Softbank World, the company’s annual two-day event for customers and suppliers, to outline the strategy behind those deals and the company’s planned US$100 billion technology fund.
Photo: Bloomberg
“I’m so excited,” said Son, Softbank’s founder and chief executive officer, dressed in a dark jacket and striped, open-collar shirt. “It really feels like sleeping is a waste of time.”
Softbank Vision Fund has already raised more than US$93 billion in total commitments from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, Apple Inc and other large institutional backers, while Softbank itself is contributing US$28 billion.
The fund is to invest in cutting edge technologies from virtual reality to autonomous driving and the Internet of Things.
At the Tokyo gathering, Son let about 10 of the portfolio companies take the stage and speak for themselves.
Boston Dynamics CEO Marc Raibert was the first to take the stage. Softbank last month said it is buying the robot maker from Google parent Alphabet Inc. Raibert demonstrated Spot Mini, one of the company’s smaller robots.
The quadruped, which uses stereo cameras and laser range finders to locate itself in space, trotted around the stage, clambering over or avoiding obstacles. At one point, he fetched a can of soda with an extendable claw for its inventor.
“Our goal is really to build robots that are equal to or greater than people in terms of their mobility, manipulation dexterity, perception and intelligence,” Raibert said. “That’s a long range target.”
Son then invited OneWeb Ltd founder Greg Wyler to the stage to show how these kinds of robots might eventually connect to the Internet.
The satellite startup, which in December last year raised US$1.2 billion from Softbank and existing investors, working on providing affordable high-speed access available anywhere in the world and targeting 1 billion subscribers by 2025.
The Florida-based company will not only connect people, but also cars, trains and ships, Wyler said.
Speakers also included Guardant Health Inc, a startup developing low-cost DNA sequencing technology that would allow for early detection of cancer, and Nauto Inc, whose self-driving technology can help reduce accidents by tracking driver behavior.
On Friday, speakers from WeWork, Microsoft Corp and Cybereason Inc took the stage at Softbank World. Softbank invested US$300 million in WeWork earlier this year, valuing the New York-based startup at about US$20 billion.
WeWork, tied for the world’s fifth-most valuable startup according to CB Insights, earlier this month announced a partnership with Softbank to expand into Japan.
The first location is scheduled to open in Tokyo in early next year with as many as 20 locations planned by the end of the year.
WeWork’s cofounder Miguel McKelvey told the audience in Tokyo that the business is about more than just renting desks and office space to freelancers and businesses.
The company aims to create environments conducive to innovation, a proposition that has also attracted large company tenants like General Electric Co and KPMG LLP.
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