SoftBank Group Corp to raise at least US$108bn for second Vision Fund

摘要

The Nikkei Asian Review writes that Japan's SoftBank Group Corp last Friday (26 July) agreed to raise upwards of US$108 billion to establish a new investment vehicle akin to its successful Vision Fund -which was established with US$100 billion and whose portfolio includes US ride-hailing giant Uber Technologies and office sharing company WeWork, among others. In an interview with Nikkei at SoftBank's Tokyo headquarters, Masayoshi Son, SoftBank's founder and CEO, outlined what he sees as the sometimes misunderstood potential of artificial intelligence (Al), explaining: 'Al is already past the stage of academic research and is at the stage of real-world adoption,' adding: 'It will be used extensively. If I were to name three areas that will be most drastically transformed by Al in ten years, they are corporate business models, health care and transportation.' Further, Son said that his aim to transform SoftBank Group Corp into an investment company 'will be key to ensuring its survival for 300 years' - reportedly a long-time goal of the entrepreneur.