Investments

After a two-year pause, SoftBank's charting a new course in India

Nikhil Patwardhan

November 25, 2024 | 11 Min Read

Though SoftBank is doubling down on AI investments globally, it’s taking a different approach in India. After a 30-month investment pause, SoftBank is now pursuing smaller, targeted deals in proven sectors—a stark departure from its previous strategy of writing $100M+ checks and leading rounds.

Key Takeaways

SoftBank is shifting its investment strategy globally, focusing on AI in various markets
While this is true in India as well, the scarcity of such companies has meant that the Japanese investor is taking a different path
SoftBank is targeting proven models that have yielded success, and has begun investing at earlier stages, prioritising companies valued between $300 million-$2 billion
The Japanese investor has returned $7.2 billion already of the $10.7 billion it invested through its Vision Fund over the past few years

During a quarterly earnings call earlier this month, Yoshimitsu Goto, CFO of Japan’s SoftBank Group, unveiled the company’s investment strategy. After two years in "defensive mode," SoftBank—one of the world’s most prominent tech investors—plans to ramp up its investment efforts. Its focus, as has been the case over the past four quarters, remains artificial intelligence (AI).

Its recent $500 million investment in OpenAI, the Sam Altman-led AI major, only served to reaffirm this commitment. Additionally, reports indicate that SoftBank has also backed Perplexity, a promising AI firm in the US that’s valued at $3 billion. In India, though, SoftBank is taking a somewhat different approach.

Though the Japanese VC is in discussions to lead a $100-120 million funding round in Addverb, an Indian warehouse automation robotics firm, its involvement in India’s AI and deep tech sectors has been minimal. Indeed, having hit the brakes on new investments in the country—its third largest market—over the past 30 months, SoftBank is set to resume investments in the country with a fresh, new approach.

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