SoftBank Group is a multinational conglomerate holding company investing is business and technologies that is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and was founded in 1981 by Masayoshi Son. The companies global portfolio consists of companies operating in several industries which include: telecommunications, internet services, AI, smart robotics, IoT and clean energy. As of March 31, 2019 Softbank Group has 76,866 employees, 1302 subsidiaries, 423 associates, 26 joint ventures, net sales of $9,602.2 billion, an operating income of $2,353.9 billion, and a net income of $1,411.2 billion. Notable companies held by SoftBank group include: Arm Holdings, Boston Dynamics, Yahoo Japan, Fortress Investment Group, Alibaba, Ola, Renren, Hike, Snapdeal, and WeWork.
Founded as a telecommunications company, SoftBank also runs businesses in e-commerce, finance, broadband, and marketing. SoftBank is headed by chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son.
On September 14, 2020, SoftBank Group announced selling British chip designer Arm Ltd. to Nvidia for up to $40 billion. In 2016, SoftBank Group purchased Arm Ltd. for $32 billion. Nvidia will be paying SoftBank Group with $21.5 billion in common stock and $12 billion in cash, $2 billion of which will be paid at the official signing of the deal. Nvidia will also be issuing $1.5 billion in common stock to Arm employees and SoftBank Group may receive up to $5 billion in common stock or cash depending on the performance of Arm.
Timeline
Funded Companies
Zymergen, founded in 2013 and located in Emeryville, California, is a technology company providing organisms engineering services. Their biotechnology labs rely on advanced manufacturing technologies, machine learning techniques, and genomics to accelerate the design, build, test cycle of microorganisms.
A company operating an online marketplace for products such as mobile devices, electronics, apparel and accessories.
A platform in New York that focuses on providing office space, mail and package handling, conference rooms, weekly events, high-speed internet and community networking to customers.
SoFi or Social Finance is a finance company offering lending and wealth management services.
Guardant Health is a Redwood City, California-based biotechnology company developing precision oncology treatments.
Company making cultured meat based in San Francisco founded by Uma Valeti, Nicholas Genovese and Will Clem.
Onfido is an identity verification service for enterprises.
Creditas is a Brazilian financial technology firm offering secured consumer loans.
An insurance technology company using artificial intelligence and behavioural economics to offer home and renters insurance.
An insurance technology offering a platform for companies to manage health insurance policies for their employees.
QuintoAndar is a Brazilian company who offers an online rental platform which allows renters to find a rental without a co-signer, deposit or rental insurance and offers landlords protection against insolvent renters.
OneWeb is a telecommunications company.
A biotechnology company offering a genomics platform supporting scientific research into life sciences such as oncology, immunology, and neuroscience.
Grab is a technology company providing a ride-hailing platform for booking service for taxis, private cars and motorbikes through a mobile device.
Policybazaar is a company operating as an insurance aggregator website. It provides comparative analysis of insurance products and financial services from insurance companies.
Ola Cabs is an Indian online transportation network company.
Rappi is a delivery service company operating in Latin American countries.
Kabbage is a financial technology and data company offering loans for small businesses.
Funding rounds
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Further reading
Documentaries, videos and podcasts
Companies
IDC Frontier
ARM
UK
Boston Dynamics
GungHo Online Entertainment
Schaft
Softbank BB