SoftBank Vision Fund partner Paul Davison has stepped down from his position as a non-executive director of the board of Brainbees Solutions, the company that runs the omnichannel children’s clothing line FirstCry. The Pune-based business said in a stock exchange filing on September 22 that the resignation was due to SoftBank’s internal compliance commitments.
“Unfortunately, given that FirstCry is now a publicly traded company, SoftBank’s internal compliance policies require that I resign and no longer hold the position of board director,” Davison wrote in his letter of resignation. Since July 15, 2019, Davison has been a member of FirstCry’s board.
SoftBank’s Internal Compliance
SoftBank’s internal governance and compliance requirements usually cause it to leave board positions in firms once they go public. This method enables the company to control risks, concentrate on investment strategies, and have flexibility when it comes to exiting investments.
In the similar move, after the fintech company Paytm and the insurance marketplace Policybazaar were listed on Indian stock markets, Munish Varma, a former managing partner of SoftBank Investment Advisors, resigned from the boards of both companies in 2022.
India is a Top Performing Market
In an interview with a well-known news source on October 22, Alex Clavel, co-chief executive of SoftBank Investment Advisers, said that India is one of the best markets for the firm’s portfolio companies, as most of them are going public. In the June quarter of this year, SoftBank sold off its stake in Paytm, suffering a loss of almost $150 million, and finished its exit from PB Fintech, the parent company of Policybazaar.
FirstCry’s Financial Report Card Prior Going to Public
On August 13, 2024, FirstCry debuted on the stock market, launching at a 34.4% premium over the INR 465 price of its initial public offering (IPO).
The company raised INR 1,885.8 crore in an anchor round prior to the IPO, and 4,055,428 equity shares were distributed to 71 anchor investors, including Norges Bank, Government of Singapore, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Fidelity Funds, Nordea Asset Management, Max Life, Nomura Funds, SBI Mutual Fund, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, HDFC Mutual Fund, Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund, and Goldman Sachs.
Compared to the same period last year, when it recorded a consolidated net loss of INR 90 crore, FirstCry posted a loss of INR 57 crore for the quarter ending June 30. Compared to the equivalent quarter of the previous fiscal year, when revenue from operations was INR 1,407 crore, it increased by 17% to INR 1,652 crore.
Masayoshi Son is a Japanese Entrepreneur, Investor, and Philanthropist. He founded the Japanese holding company, SoftBank, and serves as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He is the Chairman of the UK-based Arm Holdings. According to Forbes, Masayoshi is the 74th richest man in the World and the second richest man in Japan with a net worth of $44.4 billion.
Get an insight into the SoftBank and Masayoshi Son Story in the post ahead!
Masayoshi was born in Tosu, Japan. He belongs to “Zainichi Koreans”, ethnic Koreans having permanent residency in Japan. He has three brothers and is the second eldest of the siblings. Taizo Son, his younger brother is the Founder of GunHo Online Entertainment and the venture capital firm Mistletoe.
At age 16, he moved out from Japan to California for higher studies. He then lived with his friends and family in South San Francisco. He met his wife, Masami Ohno while studying at the university. The couple bears two children. He currently resides with residesmily in Tokyo.
Masayoshi Son- Education
Masayoshi went to California and finished high school in just three weeks by taking the necessitated exams at Serramonte High. After that, he pursued a Bachelor of Arts specializing in Economics and also studied Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley.
He completed his graduation in 1980. He pursued his interest in business before Japan’s McDonald’s president, Den Fujita, and on the advice of the latter, he started studying English and Computer Science.
Masayoshi Son- Professional Life
Masayoshi Son and Softbank Story
At age 19, Masayoshi got besotted by an integrated circuit featured in a magazine and he realized that computer technology would fuel the next commercial revolution.
While pursuing his studies, he developed an electronic translator that was sold to Sharp Corporation for $ 1.7 million. He earned $ 1.5 million by importing used video games and installing them in dormitories and restaurants.
After graduating in 1980, he started Unison in Oakland, CA, which was acquired by Kyocera. He is one of the active investors and holds maximum stakes at companies like Yahoo!, and Alibaba through the means of his venture SoftBank.
Masayoshi founded SoftBank Group Corporation on 3 September 1981. The company is headquartered in Minato, Tokyo and he serves as its Founder and CEO. He also owns a professional Japanese baseball team, which he named SoftBank Hawks.
SoftBank is a multinational conglomerate holding venture which holds stakes in many technology, energy, and financial companies. It also runs Vision Fund which is the world’s largest technology-focused venture capital firm, with over $ 100 billion in the capital.
Masayoshi Son- Vision Fund Investments
Vision Fund Logo
The $ 100 billion Vision Fund is an investment vehicle that runs for SoftBank. It invests in emerging technologies like, robotics, artificial intelligence, and the internet of things. The company aims to double its portfolio of AI companies to reform real estate, transportation, and retail.
He makes personal connections with the CEOs of all companies funded by Vision Fund. He plans to raise $100 billion for a new fund. Every few years, he invests about $ 50 billion each year in startups.
The graph shows some of the investments made by the Vision Fund in its first round
In 2020, Vision Fund was recorded to have invested in 88 companies including ride-share companies Grab, Coupang, and Paytm. As of the year 2022, the vision fund has around 475 companies included in its portfolio.
Masayoshi Son- Investor
He is an active investor such that his holding company, SoftBank holds 25 % of the Alibaba company. Moreover, his stake in Yahoo! had diminished by 7%. He then established Yahoo! Japan in September 2001, where he holds a controllable interest. He stepped down from the Alibaba board in June 2020.
Post hyperinflation of SoftBank’s equity, he was strained to pivot towards Yahoo! BB and BB Phone. SoftBank has an accumulated debt of about $1.3 billion to date. Still, Yahoo! BB acquired Japan Telecom, which was then the third-largest broadband and landline provider with 600,00 residential and 170,000 commercial subscribers in the year 2020. Thereafter, Yahoo! BB is Japan’s leading broadband provider.
Masayoshi Son- Arm Holdings
Arm Holdings was successfully purchased by SoftBank in 2016 for the amount $ 31.4 billion
Masayoshi serves as the Chairman of the US-based software design company, Arm Holdings. In July 2016, there was an announcement that SoftBank is planning to acquire Arm Holdings for $31.4 billion, which would be the largest-ever purchase of a European technology company.
Arm Holdings was officially acquired by SoftBank in September 2016. The company approved the complete transaction. The total acquisition price counted to $34 billion. Moreover, SoftBank further acquired Sprint Corporation by purchasing 76% of its share.
Sprint Corporation was acquired by SoftBank by purchasing 76% of shares
Masayoshi Son- Philanthropy
Masayoshi vowed to donate $120 million and his remaining salary until retirement to support victims of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in the year 2011.
Post devastating effects of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011, he criticized the nuclear industry for creating a problem that worries the Japanese thoroughly. He thus invested in a nationwide solar power network for Japan. It was announced in March 2018 that Masayoshi was investing in the biggest ever solar project.
Masayoshi Son – Latest News
11 May 2022- Masayoshi recorded another point but with the loss of about $18.6 billion from Softbank’s Vision Fund Inc in the last quarter of March.
23 May 2022- Masayoshi Son was reported to meet Indian Prime minister “Narendra Singh Modi”. The meeting was mainly to discuss the role of Softbank in the technology, energy, and finance sector of India and its development.
30 May 2022- After acquiring the loss, the Softbank firm gets the paycheck compensation cut from its executive employees with no change in the paycheck of the CEO.
Conclusion
Masayoshi Son is entitled to the second richest man in Japan and 74th richest man in the world according to the Forbes Rich List. He is also the founder and CEO of Softbank. Masayoshi Son is an industrialist, investor, and philanthropist. Many other important aspects of Masayoshi Son have been shared in the above context.
FAQs
Who is the CEO of Softbank?
Masayoshi Son is the founder and CEO of Softbank.
How much of SoftBank does Masayoshi Son own?
Masayoshi Son owns about 21.25% of SoftBank.
Why is SoftBank called SoftBank?
The word “Soft” stands for the synonym of the bank. Hence the word “SoftBank” stands for the general idea of having banks of software. And the reason behind using the word bank in the title is to give the general idea of being a key source of infrastructure for the society.
Who is the richest man in Japan in 2022?
Tadashi Yanai is the richest man in Japan with a net worth of US$26.1 billion.
Does SoftBank own ARM?
ARM was acquired by SoftBank in the year 2016 for a deal of $31.4 billion.
Chinese investors have had a significant presence in the startup ecosystem In India. After the recent dispute at the Indo-China border, the Indian public is actively participating in the #BoycottChineseProducts movement. This has also resulted in the boycott of the services and products offered by different startups that have received investments from different Chinese companies.
However, there are many different Chinese companies that have invested huge amounts in many startups across the country. Many startups in India have been receiving investments worth millions of dollars from different Chinese companies that wish to establish themselves in the Indian market. And they have been quite successful in this by investing in big and popular startups and companies in India.
In this article, we discuss the top Chinese investors in the Indian Startup Ecosystem and their investments.
Alibaba Group is probably the topmost Chinese company that has invested in many Indian startups over the years, this multinational tech company was founded in the year 1999. Some of the biggest Indian startups and companies in which The Alibaba Group has invested include the Online Food Ordering and Delivery startup Zomato, Payments startup PayTM, and e-commerce startups such as Paytm Mall and SnapDeal and online grocery Store BigBasket.
Startup Name
Startup Founder
Amount
BigBasket
Hari Menon, VS Sudhakar and Vipul Parekh
$246 million
PayTM
Vijay Shekhar Sharma
$1.1 billion
Snapdeal
Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal
$150 million
Zomato
Deepinder Goyal
$512 million
Tencent Holdings
Tencent Holdings, or simply Tencent, is another Chinese technology and entertainment conglomerate that has hugely invested in Indian startups. It was founded in the year 1998. This company has invested in many different startups and companies such as PolicyBazaar, e-commerce store Flipkart, Online Taxi Booking startup Ola and Food Delivery Company Swiggy.
Startup Name
Startup Founder
Amount
MX Player
Karan Bedi
$110 million
PolicyBazaar
Yahishis Dahiya, Avaneesh Nirjar and Alok Bansal
$150 million
Ibibo
Ashish Kashyap
Undisclosed
Doubtnut
Tanushree Nagori and Aditya Shankar
$15 million
Swiggy
Sriharsha Majety, Rahul Jaimini and Nandan Reddy
Undisclosed
Flipkart
Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal
Undisclosed
Byju
Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath
$40 million
Hike
Kavin Bharti Mittal
$175 million
Dream11
Bhavit Sheth and Harsh Jain
$100 million
Ola
Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati
$400 million
Fosun Group
The Fosun Group has been investing in Indian startups for a long time, keeping its main focus on Tech-based startups. It has invested in many startups including Delhivery, LetsTransport and others. Instead of investing large in big startups like the others that are already mentioned, Fosun Group mainly focuses on small tickets for relatively small startups. The group has its presence all around the world.
Startup Name
Startup Founder
Amount
MakeMyTrip
Deep Kalra
Undisclosed
Delhivery
Sahil Barua, Suraj Saharan and Kapil Bharati,
$30 million
LetsTransport
Pushkar Singh, Sudarshan Ravi and Ankit Parasher
$12 million
Shunwei Capitals
Shunwei Capitals has invested in many startups over the past years. It is a venture capital firm situated in Beijing, China. It was founded in 2011 by Lei Jun. In November of 2008, they raised around 1.2 billion dollars for investments in Indian startups.
Startup Name
Startup Founder
Amount
ZestMoney
Lizzie Chapman and Ashish Anantharaman
$13.4 million
Vokal
Mayank Bidawataka and Aprameya Radhakrishna
$6.5 million
Hillhouse Capital Group
Hillhouse Capital Group is one of the most famous private equity firms in Asia. It has invested in some well-known startups in India. The company was founded in the year 2005 by Zhang Lei.
Startup Name
Startup Founder
Amount
Udaan
Amod Malviya, Vaibhav Gupta, Sujeet Kumar
Undisclosed
Swiggy
Sriharsha Majety, Rahul Jaimini and Nandan Reddy
Undisclosed
Conclusion
China has maintained a firm grip on the Indian market by funding and investing in various startups and companies all across the country. Even after the tension regarding the Indo-Chinese dispute, Chinese companies are associated with some Indian startups. Some of the most popular and well known Indian startups got funds from these Chinese companies and with their promising future, more and more Chinese companies are looking forward to investing in them and other startups
FAQs
Have Chinese companies invested in Indian companies?
There are multiple Chinese companies that have invested in Indian startups.
Is BYJU funded by China?
Chinese conglomerate Tencent Holdings has invested in the Indian ed-tech startup Byju.
The world we live in is always in need of innovation. Be it from domestic help to data analysis. For all of this one thing is unavoidable – investment. With an aim of investing in transformative technologies, The Japanese company SoftBank has initiated a $100 venture capital fund called the visions fund.
The Vision Fund was a materialisation of a talk between Masayoshi Son, Chairman of SoftBank and the crown prince of Saudi Arabia Muhammed Bin Salman. As the name suggests, the Vision Fund envisions a long-term growth of companies for the benefit of humanity.
Being the biggest venture capital fund in the world, their plans for investment are almost equal to the global venture capital investment of the world. Most of their companies are in the transportation and logistics sector followed by consumer services and frontier technologies. Here is a glimpse of a few startups that are funded by SoftBank’s Vision Fund
The banking startup is the latest unicorn now. In May 2021, it raised $250 million in a series C funding of Vision Fund. This has raised the value of the firm to $1.45 billion. It was founded by Bhavin Turakhia and Ramki Gaddipati in 2015. Zeta provides a modern and cloud native platform to improve the cost to income ratio and consumer experience.
ByteDance
With a mission to “Inspire creativity and enrich life”, ByteDance is a startup that is spread over 150 markets with offices in 126 cities. They offer high quality Global Creation and Interaction Platforms as and while ensuring that the digital life of billions of its users are made beautiful. It was found in 2012 in a four bedroom apartment. In 2019, SoftBank’s Vision Fund invested in ByteDance and its corporate value quadrupled soon after.
Trax
Making in-store execution easier, Trax has been very useful to both retailers and customers. They say that through them the best of digital technologies comes together in the physical reality for the best experience of the users. In 2021, it secured $640 million funding lead by SoftBank Vision Fund. Trax will continue to optimise its retail stores through creating awareness about changing store condition and improving purchasing intent.
Firstcry
Founded in 2010, It aims to be the largest retailer in child and mother care products in the world. In 2018, SoftBank Vision Fund bought a 40% stake at a rate of $400 million which makes them the biggest investor in the company. It also valued Firstcry at $1.1 billion at that time. Today, they have a customer base of over 20 million families. Under the leadership of Supam Maheshwari, they continue to conquer greater heights in the business realm.
It is a startup that revolutionised the untapped market of opticals. It is indeed a magical unicorn of India and there is no surprise in Vision Fund investing in Lenskart. Beginning from contact lenses, today it has a range of prescription glasses and sunglasses as well. It was launched in 2010. It fared really well in business and was aided by SoftBank Vision Fund in the year 2019. They invested a total of $275 million after which it was valued at $1.5 billion. In 2020, Lenskart generated a revenue of 1000 crore.
Meesho
The top rated reselling app of India was found by two IIT Delhi graduates Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal. They have transcended beyond earning profits for themselves alone by helping small businesses and individuals to set up their own online stores.
In the latest funding round of Vision Fund (2021), it invested $300 million which raised its value to an enviable $2.1 billion. Earlier, when it was valued at $700 million, they had received a funding of $125 million in 2019. The latest funding is three times greater than last time. It was the fourth deal in the second Vision Fund in India.
Oyo Rooms
The most popular hospitality firm that upturned the ways of hotel booking raised $807 million along with RA Holdings. In this SVF has picked up 9626 holdings of Series F CCPS for $506 million. This will make SVF entitled to 50.5% stake in the firm. Oyo has always surprised us by expanding to countries like wildfire. It is expected that this fund will be used to increase the efficiency of the company by delivering the best services.
Flipkart
Flipkart is a very familiar name in the e-commerce industry for the past few years. Its growth has been tremendous and inspiring. Softbank Vision Fund had invested a sum of $2.5 billion in 2017. Now, Flipkart is completing its merger with Walmart and SoftBank has only sold 20% of its stake during the process and thereby continues to stay invested. Softbank is now again trying to invest in Flipkart.
Unacademy
It is a Bangalore based Education technology firm which was founded in 2015. It began its journey as a YouTube channel in 2010 and its growth over the decade is commendable. Unacademy received a sum of $150 million from SoftBank’s Vision Fund in 2020. This will take the committed firm’s overall value to $1.4 billion. This is a triple gain as far as the firm is concerned in a span of 6 months. They will be using the fund to launch new products and expand the organisation.
The UK based bank for small and medium sized companies was founded in 2013. It gained regulatory approval in 2015. The firm was founded by Rishi Khosla and Joel Perlman. In February 2019, SoftBank invested $440 million in OakNorth and its value skyrocketed to $2.8 billion. Many times, it lends more than $5 billion which is higher than its counterparts. However, they recover more than 90% of that money. Today, it is one of the highly valued startups in Europe.
Softbank’s Biggest Investments
Grofers
Founded in 2013, Grofers is a grocery delivery service in India. It allows you to order a large variety of products through their online supermarket. Their potential did not skip the eyes of SoftBank either. In 2020, they invested $55 million in this firm to help them further improve their efficiency and services. The bank’s trust in the business can be further reiterated by the fact that they hold 46% of the total holdings.
Paytm
Since its launch in 2009, Paytm has transformed the money paying etiquette of people in India and many other e-commerce payment platforms followed suit. In 2019, it was founded by Vijay Shekhar Varma. Paytm raised $1 billion from Vision Fund along with Ant Financial Services. The new fund will be used to ramp up the expansion of the firm into rural India. They aim to popularise payments in rural India online.
Biofourmis
It is a health tech company that makes use of machine learning and AI to improve services in the health sector. It was founded by Kuldeep Singh Rajput with a team of committed members backing him. Together they have been successful in improving outcomes of major healthcare providers. In 2020, they raised $100 million through the Series C of Vision Fund. This was indeed a booster shot for them. They are now on their path to develop better portfolios which are inclusive of digital therapeutics for pain and cancer.
Klarna
Klarna Bank AB or Klarna, as it is commonly termed, is a Swedish fintech company that is mainly associated with online financial services to support payments for online storefronts, direct payments, and post-purchase payments. The company is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden and boasts of more than 3,000 employees, most of whom work from the headquarters.
With the latest investment round, Klarna announces an equity funding of $638 million. This equity funding has been led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2, which was then followed by additional participation primarily from Adit Ventures, Honeycomb Asset Management, and WestCap Group. The latest round of funding raised the valuation of Klarna to $45.6 billion. This recent funding round is aimed to support the international expansion of the company and further capture global retail growth.
Eightfold AI
Eightfold AI, as the name indicates, is a Talent Intelligence platform powered by Artificial Intelligence. Eightfold AI announced on Thursday, June 10, 2021, that the company has been successful in raising a fund close to $220 million in the Series E funding round led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2.
The company has been successful in raising more than $410 million to date, with around $350 million coming in the past six months. According to Eightfold AI’s Founder and CEO, Ashutosh Garg, the company will continue to use the funds to widen its operations in India, with investments focused on the most talented data scientists and engineers across the country. This way Eightfold AI would ensure that its funds are used for fast and effective growth and development of its talent intelligence platform and further expanding its growing partner ecosystem.
Whatfix
Whatfix is a SaaS-based company, which primarily focuses on providing in-app guidance and support for software products and web applications. In the Series D funding round of the company, Whatfix announced that it has raised $90 million. This recent round of funding was led by Softbank’s Vision Fund 2, followed by other participations including that of Eight Roads Ventures, Sequoia Capital India, Dragoneer Investment Group, F-Prime Capital, and Cisco Investments.
Whatfix claims to have tripled its investments after the completion of this recent round of funding, according to TOI. The firm has reportedly raised around $139.8 million in the last segment alone and with that in, the company is presently valued at $600 million.
With the latest round of funding, Whatfix aims to strengthen its position in the US and look for further expansion in Europe and the Asia Pacific. It also strives to focus more on product innovation to provide personalized user experiences with effective use of Artificial Intelligence.
Here are a few other startups in which SoftBank’s Vision Fund have invested in
Name of the company
Year of Investment by SBVF
Amount of investment
Ola
2014
$210 million
Delhivery
2019
$350 million
Policy Bazaar
$200 million
OpenDoor Labs
2019
$300 million
Cameo
2021
$100 million
Banco Inter
2021
$471 million
Exeger
2019
$10 million
Zume Pizza
2018
$375 million
One Tap Buy
2018
$17.32 million
Compass
2018
$400 million
Conclusion
There was a lot of criticism with regard to the functionalities of Vision Fund. Many opinionated that the mode of its functioning was hitherto unseen. The loss it faced in the last year further sharpened the criticisms against it. However, it was able to come back with a bang and give a sharper reply to the critics through its economic performance.
The performance of the companies in which it invested is a testimony to the win of SoftBank as well. The Japanese multinational company has significantly helped a plethora of startups to ace in their business through the Vision Fund.
By extending help to startups, it also didn’t fall back in emerging as the biggest profit earning company in the history of Japanese companies. After a year of unprecedented loss it has emerged as one of the world’s biggest earning firms in the world. SoftBank and its Vision Fund will always remain as a ray of hope for all startups.
FAQ
Who owns SoftBank?
SoftBank’s founder and CEO is Masayoshi Son who is the third-richest person in Japan, with a $20.6 billion personal fortune. He owns $45 million worth of real estate in Tokyo as well as a $117.5 million estate in Silicon Valley.
What is SoftBank Vision Fund?
Softbank Vision Fund is the world’s biggest innovation-centered investment finance, with over $100 billion in the capital.
How does SoftBank earns?
SoftBank owns stakes in many technology, energy, and financial companies. It also runs Vision Fund, the world’s largest technology-focused venture capital fund.
SoftBank Vision Fund is a Japanese based company that had exited from its investments in Flipkart after selling them off to Walmart Inc during the year 2018. But the company has now held discussions in order to invest into the e-commerce giant, Flipkart. Let’s look at why SoftBank is trying to buy Flipkart again.
SoftBank has held discussions with the e-commerce giant, Flipkart to invest an amount of around USD 600 – USD 700 million during the funding round. Certain sources have claimed that the funding which is being raised by Flipkart is much more larger which is expected to be around USD 2 billion.
The funding rounds estimated to see the participation of a group of investors or wealth funds which include Canada’s CPPIB, Abu Dhabi’s ADQ as well as the existing investors of the company which includes GIC and Qatar Investment Authority.
The sources have conveyed that the funding rounds would value the e-commerce giant to closely around USD 25 – USD 30 billion.
Flipkart Plans for IPO in US
Flipkart had plans to go for an Initial Public Offering in the United States and the investment from Soft Bank would lead the company to push aside its plans to go public. This would mean that the e-commerce giant would stay as a private company for longer than it was intended to.
A person close to the developments has conveyed that the deal between SoftBank and Flipkart would be finalized up in the next few weeks of June 2021. As per earlier reports, the e-commerce giant had plans to go public during the year 2022.
If the deal to invest in Flipkart is finalized then it would be another big move from the Japanese based group, SoftBank in entering into the Indian e-commerce market. The company has already been part of the e-commerce market with huge cash investments.
After the exit from the e-commerce firm Flipkart during the year 2018, the re-entry into the firm is at the right time when the large Indian groups such as TATA and Reliance have been entering into the market sector and is trying to catch the market share.
Even the rival firm of Flipkart which is Amazon has increased its investment in the Indian market by more than USD 7 billion in diversified sectors which include retailing, online payments, food delivery, grocery delivery, etc.
The investment from SoftBank will help the e-commerce giant to build an ecosystem in order to compete with the rivals such as Reliance, TATA and Amazon.
Flipkart under the leadership of Kalyan Krishnamurthy has grown significantly over the years. They have increased their investments and the acquisitions in order to bulk up their logistics and supply chain in order to increase the its brand and fashion portfolio.
In the month of April 2021, the company had acquired Cleartrip in order to strengthen its presence in the hospitality sector. Flipkart had also acquired an 8% stake in the Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd and also a 27 % stake in the Arvind Fashions.
Other recent investments of the company include a logistics startup and a supply chain startup. The company is also focusing to invest heavily into the online grocery platform as it has seen an increased demand due to the pandemic and the lockdown in the major cities.
The company has announced that it has plans to build warehouses for scaling up its grocery business and hired employees for it. The Indian business of Flipkart is operated through multiple entities. The online business is run by Flipkart internet and Flipkart India.
Conclusion
The e-commerce giant has expected to raise funds from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and also from the existing investors. 76.9 % of the stake is owned by the Parent company Walmart INC. The other investors include UBS, GIC, Accel, Microsoft, Qatar Investment Authority, Tiger Global Management, Tencent, ESOP pool and the founder Binny Bansal.
FAQ
When did SoftBank Invest in Flipkart?
SoftBank’s Vision Fund invested $2.5 billion in Flipkart in August 2017.
When did Walmart invest in Flipkart?
In 2018 Walmart bought a roughly 77% stake in Flipkart for $16 billion.
Is Softbank investing in Flipkart again?
Yes, Softbank is in talks with Flipkart to invest approximately $700 million in it.
SoftBank Group Corp. is a Japanese global conglomerate headquartered in Tokyo. The SoftBank Group has launched SoftBank Vision Fund, the world’s biggest innovation-centered investment finance, with over $100 billion in the capital. In this article, we have discussed SoftBank, Its Vision, Its Stakes Possession, SoftBank Vision Fund, SoftBank’s Vision for India, Its Marketing Strategy, etc.
SoftBank Group Corp. is a Japanese global conglomerate headquartered in Tokyo. SoftBank was positioned in the Forbes Global 2000 list as the 36th biggest open organization in the world, and the second biggest organization to be traded in Japan’s open market after Toyota. The organization possesses stakes in top technology companies like Softbank Corporation, Softbank Vision Fund, Arm Holdings, Fortress Investment Group, Sprint, Alibaba, Uber, and many more.
SoftBank – Softbank Vision Fund
Softbank Vision Fund is the world’s biggest innovation-centered investment finance, with over $100 billion in the capital. The organization is known for its initiative backed by originator Masayoshi Son. The Fund presently has its fingers in broadband, fixed-line broadcast communications, web-based businesses, innovation administrations, media and advertising, and other domains.
Softbank Vision Fund
SoftBank Vision Fund is a subsidiary of the conglomerate Softbank Group. The company is specialized in growth capital and social impact investments that revolve mostly around software companies. Mostly, the funds are invested in latest technology sectors such as IoT, AI, Robotics, Communications Infrastructure, Telecoms, Computational biology, Biotech, Cloud Technologies and Software, Consumer Internet Businesses, FinTech, and Mobile Apps. The Fund is designed in such a way that it’ll be a catalyst for technology progress in anticipation that it will expand SoftBank’s capabilities, accelerating progress towards SoftBank 2.0.
It also aims to invest in businesses and foundational platforms that SoftBank believes to revolutionize and innovate the world tomorrow.
SoftBank – Name, Logo & Tagline
The SoftBank logo derives from Kaientai, a maritime exchanging organization that existed during the end of the Tokugawa shogunate.
Softbank Corporation Logo
SoftBank – Marketing Strategy
The Softbank group uses an effective and smart “4P” marketing strategy to carry out its business across multinational market places. Here’s a description of the 4P model used by SoftBank:
Products & Services
SoftBank deals in money, broadband, semiconductor structures, innovative administrations, broadband and what not. Softbank also has prominent wind power plants, sun based power plants, and other energy generation sources. It is a conspicuous player in the residential telecom showcase in Japan which incorporates closeout of mobiles, repaired line telephone utilities, and information correspondence.
It additionally furnishes benefits in relationship with Yahoo Japan and “IBM Watson”, a cell phone application grown together with IBM Japan. As an internet provider, Softbank offers different choices, for example, web through optical strands. Softbank Air is a popular web information administration service offered by the behemoth. Before the dispatch of iPhone 4s, SoftBank was the main iPhone bearer in Japan.
SoftBank offers a different worth which includes evaluating arrangements to serve its purchasers the best. Softbank has a wide extension to utilize these strategies exceptionally, particularly in the telecom and web advertisement domains where it has different contenders like NTT and AU. Since Softbank faces escalated rivalry from its rivals, its valuing relies on relative market evaluation. Softbank uses packaging techniques to value its administrations higher. This concentrates the vast majority of the purchaser’s excess. It likewise uses worth estimating and has presented worth packs that are charged for the value conveyed.
Place
SoftBank works through wholesalers and retailers far-reaching the nation over. Through its wide chain of selective stores in shopping centers and commercial spaces, it draws in a wide range of buyers. Being a multi-year old organization, Softbank has a huge shopper base. It reaches its customers through online store and cell phone applications. Softbank additionally finds certain stores on its site that use staff proficient in English for engaging with its global clients.
Promotion
SoftBank has top-notch advancement systems in its advertising mix to connect with buyers, particularly those concerning mobiles. It gives complimentary wireless internet at different bistros and railroad stations to expand its perception and image in the market. It gives enormous accentuation on ads distributed in papers, magazines, online networking, and TV.
Here are the other Ps to make it the promoting blend of Softbank.
People
The Softbank gathering is profoundly reliant on its workers since they are the main impetus of the organization. They have utilized 69154 representatives since 2016. The essential spotlight is on worker commitment. And this in turn ensures client satisfaction. Since the well-being and security of the workers legitimately impact their exhibition, the organization guarantees the equivalent.
Procedure
Procedures in Softbank are completed in the most transparent manner. The website helps clients purchase the administrations they are interested in. The point-by-point guidance makes it simpler to perform the purchase procedure. Moreover, client care services assist the client with all sorts of questions and challenges.
SoftBank had a solid beginning to the 2020 budgetary year, accomplishing income increments over the entirety of its portions and including Yahoo Japan as a combined backup to its business. This brought its income to about ¥1.16 trillion.
The buyer section i.e. the center business of SoftBank, expanded its income to around ¥658 billion, an expansion of over ¥22 billion. The portion’s telecom administration incomes expanded by 6.2% year on year to ¥528 billion. Inside its telecom administration incomes, versatile interchanges income expanded by ¥23 multi-year on year to ¥423 billion, with the addition essentially credited to increments in cell phone supporters and a decline in the month to month limits for its Ultra Giga Monster Plus plan. This plan isolates handset installment and administration charges.
Softbank’s Growth Over The Years
SoftBank revealed it had 22.5 million shopper cell phone supporters during Q1 2020 compared to 20.7 million in the same quarter of 2019. Its venture fragment went from winning ¥148 billion to ¥154.5 billion in income year on year. This included versatile income which expanded by 4% to ¥68 billion, fixed-line income which diminished by 6% to nearly ¥49 billion, and other income that expanded by around 24% to ¥37.5 billion.
The increments in the portable and business arrangements incomes were because of bounces in cell phone endorsers and deals from cloud administrations. Fixed-line incomes diminished because of the unit cost of telephone utilities became cheaper. The endeavor portion’s working pay was ¥28 billion, a 17.7% expansion.
Yahoo Japan, the new section that was solidified into SoftBank budgetary outcomes, had its income bounce from ¥226 billion to ¥235 billion, a 3.3% expansion year on year. Of this, trade income expanded by 4.8% year on year to ¥165 billion, media income stayed relentless at around ¥72 billion, and other income diminished by 13% year on year to around ¥1.4 billion.
The expansion in trade income was predominantly because of an elevation in income-related with an increment in exchange, an incentive in business administrations. While Yahoo Japan’s income expanded over the previous year, its working salary dropped 8% because of ventures geared towards growing its online installments stage.
The purpose of making Yahoo Japan a solidified backup, SoftBank stated, was to reinforce its association with Yahoo Japan in the making of such new organizations. “The two organizations will upgrade the administration assets designation dependent on a coordinated methodology that empowers them to expand cooperative energies,” it said.
Its appropriation fragment—which offers items and administrations essentially tending to ICT, cloud administrations, and IoT arrangements—hopped from ¥92 billion to ¥116 billion, up by 26% year on year. This was for the most part due to firm offers of existing items, for example, PCs and servers, notwithstanding an expansion in the number of licenses for cloud administrations. The conveyance section’s working salary was nearly ¥5.3 billion, an expansion of 32% year on year.
Altogether, SoftBank’s working salary was ¥269 billion, up by 22% from the year-earlier.
The expansion was fundamental because the Japanese combination was encountering relentless development in its different telecom organizations; the working pay of its telecom organizations over the Consumer, Enterprise, and Distribution sections was expanding by over ¥20 billion altogether. With another solid execution in its Q1 2019 outcomes, the Japanese aggregate proceeds with its upward direction, having expanded its working pay by 81% for FY 2018 contrasted with FY 2017. The gigantic bounce was driven by the SoftBank Vision and Delta Funds which dramatically multiplied the working pay.
SoftBank likewise declared a second SoftBank Vision Fund a month ago, comprising of $108 billion (¥11.7 trillion) in reserves.
SoftBank Vision reserve was set up in 2017 with an all-out corpus of $100 bn. The majority of this vision reserve was raised from Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. The organization has put around $10B so far in Indian new businesses.
Softbank’s Vision For India
SoftBank has seen an 80% year-on-year development in its working pay for FY 2019. The Son-driven organization ascribed this development to an unrealized addition of about $12.5B from its interests in ride-hailing organization Uber, Indian accommodation organization OYO, and other portfolio organizations. In general, its interests in Flipkart and OYO were responsible for an addition of $2.7B, split among acknowledged and unrealized increases.
The closeout of SoftBank’s offer in the Indian web-based business goliath Flipkart brought about the addition of $1.3Bn for the Japanese organization. Flipkart was purchased by Walmart for $16B in August 2018. OYO’s valuation has expanded to $1.4bn in FY 2019. SoftBank’s other key interests in India include Ola, OYO, Hike, Paytm, FirstCry, Grofers, Delhivery, and Paytm Mall. Not long ago, SoftBank was said to be pondering on the first stock sale of its $100B SoftBank Vision Fund.
SoftBank Group Corp. started out in 1981 as a distributor of computer software. As software is called “soft” in Japanese, the name “SoftBank” literally means “a bank of software.” The word “bank” was chosen based on the company’s grand aspiration to be a key source of infrastructure for the information society.
Who owns SoftBank?
SoftBank’s founder and CEO, Masayoshi Son, is the third-richest person in Japan, with a $20.6 billion personal fortune. He owns $45 million worth of real estate in Tokyo as well as a $117.5 million estate in Silicon Valley.
What is SoftBank Vision Fund?
Softbank Vision Fund is the world’s biggest innovation-centered investment finance, with over $100 billion in the capital.
What Marketing Strategy does SoftBank follow?
The Softbank group uses an effective and smart “4P” marketing strategy to carry out its business across multinational market places.
SoftBank – Conclusion
SoftBank Vision Fund is a part of the multi-national conglomerate Softbank Group. The company is specialized in growth capital and social impact investments that revolve mostly around software companies. It also aims to invest in businesses and foundational platforms that SoftBank believes to revolutionize and innovate the world tomorrow.
Softbank has invested in many companies in India and helped them reach milestones. It has already spent $10 billion as investments on Indian start-ups out of which $8 billion were from its vision fund. Masayoshi Son’s interest in India has proved to be profitable for him.
Below is the List of top Softbank investments in India that reaped huge success.
Softbank contributed to Flipkart much later than Snapdeal, which is regrettable. But it went big as Softbank invested a whopping $2.5 billion in this Indian e-commerce company. Masayoshi Son, founder, and CEO of Softbank showed keen interest in the company.
The deal proved to be short-term as Flipkart was acquired by Walmart in 2018 for $16 billion. Softbank also sold its 21% stake making Walmart the major shareholder of the company. Softbank made $4 billion in this trade.
Hike messnger
India’s own online messaging app and sole local rival of WhatsApp was also invested in by Softbank. Hike successfully raised $7 million from Softbank and Bharti Enterprises combined.
Hike didn’t live up to the expectations as it completely failed to build a customer base. Its revenue also decreased substantially over the years.
OYO
Oyo is also one of the major Softbank Investments in India. Masayoshi Son spoke highly of the company and believed fully in it. This Indian Hospitality start-up got $100 million from Softbank in August 2015. Oyo made Softbank very rich as it soared to amazing heights in its initial years.
Oyo plans to enter UK, Indonesia, and other European companies too. It also wishes to get into wedding planning. Lately, Oyo is suffering losses due to the pandemic. Masayoshi Son also realizes that he got over-enthusiastic with his plans for the company.
Policy Bazar provides a comparison of over 300 insurance plans. This is an online protection start-up. It raised $200 million as an investment from Softbank.
Grofers
It’s an online grocery delivery platform that’s functioning in 13 cities across the country. This Gurugram based start-up received $120 million from Softbank in 2015.
FirstCry
This Pune-based online retail platform that deals in child clothing and accessories also received money from Softbank. It raised $395.7 million for itself.
Paytm
Paytm is one of the first and biggest digital platforms in India. It’s also among the greatest Softbank investments in India. It received $1400 million from Softbank which increased to $1.5- 2 Billion.
Paytm Mall, which is a retail platform under Paytm also received $445 million from Softbank.
This both US and India-based Robotic Process Automation company raised $300 million from Softbank. Softbank Investment in India has always been larger in the innovation and technology sector.
Softbank Group Revenue
Ola
Ola is also one the most successful Softbank investments in India. It received $210M (Rs 1725 cr) from Softbank. It moved on to acquire Foodpanda and TaxiForSure.
Ola electric is India’s first-ever multi-modal electric vehicle venture which also raised $250 million from Softbank.
Uber
Ola’s rival Uber is also funded by Softbank. This cab aggregator received a hefty amount of Rs 1200 crores in 2017. Uber is doing very well as it has built a solid customer base and clientele in the market.
Delhivery
This Gurugram based e-commerce logistics start-up also comes in the list of successful Softbank investments in India. They received $350 million from Softbank.
The company is also planning for public listing in 2022-23.
This Mumbai-based house searching platform received $90 million from Softbank. This start-up, founded by Rahul Yadav in 2014, aims to solve housing problems in cities like Mumbai.
Relay
Relay is an organization in India led by Sanjiv Patel that manufactures drug discovery pipelines based centrally on protein motion. Softbank invested $300 million in the company in 2015 in a Series C funding round. It holds a 41% stake in the company.
InMobi
InMobi is a company based in Bangalore, Karnataka, helps users with mobile advertising. It’s founded by Naveen Tewari Softbank invested $2 billion in 2011 and in the same year, InMobi became the first Indian unicorn startup company 2011.
FAQ
How much did SoftBank Invest in Oyo?
SoftBank’s Vision Fund initially invested around $250 million into Oyo, and later led a further $1 billion funding round that took its valuation to $5 billion.
Is SoftBank a private equity firm?
Yes, SoftBank is one of the largest private equity firm.
Who is owner of SoftBank?
Masayoshi Son is the owner of SoftBank.
Conclusion
These Softbank Investments in India have turned out to be highly profitable. It’s safe to say that Masayoshi Son understands the potential in Indian start-ups and is here to support them in the long run.
Nitin Konde
