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Japan-based telco hopes to grow fund size to $100 billion by attracting additional investors.
Softbank late last week launched a venture capital arm that it claims has the potential to become a $100 billion (€91 billion) investment fund.
The Japan-based telco said it will put $25 billion of its own money into the Softbank Vision Fund over the next five years. It has also signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia that could see the sovereign wealth fund invest up to $45 billion over the next five years as well.
"In addition, a few large global investors are in active dialogue to join SBG (Softbank Group) and PIF to participate in this fund. The overall potential size of the fund can go up to $100 billion," Softbank said in a statement on Friday.
The Softbank Vision Fund plans to invest in tech firms the world over, in a bid to "accelerate SBG’s global growth strategy through investments via the fund and alliances with portfolio companies," Softbank added.
Friday’s announcement marks a ramping up of Softbank’s efforts to capitalise on emerging trends by investing in strategically-important companies and budding start-ups.
In July, Softbank agreed to acquire U.K.-based chip designer ARM for £24 billion (€28.8 billion), claiming that it puts the company in a position to capture opportunities in the Internet of Things (IoT). The deal closed in September.
In March, Softbank restructured, separating its domestic business and its international operations into two separate, wholly-owned subsidiaries of Softbank Group.
The latter of those two units manages Softbank’s stakes in various online businesses, including e-commerce company Snapdeal and ride-sharing firm Ola Cabs in India, Korean online retailer Coupang, and U.S. fintech company SoFi, among others.
Launching the Softbank Vision Fund also comes not long after Softbank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son revealed that he plans to stay in his role for another five-to-10 years.
"I want to cement Softbank 2.0, develop [U.S. subsidiary] Sprint to its true potential, and work on a few more crazy ideas," he said at the time.
The Softbank Vision Fund will certainly give Son the capital he needs to explore some of those crazy ideas.
