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SoftBank Group

technology Maturity 7-9 Next article →

SoftBank Group is a huge company from Japan.

Softbank in Sendai & the decorations of Sendai Star Festival
Softbank in Sendai & the decorations of Sendai Star Festival

It is based in the Minato area of Tokyo. The company focuses on investment management. This means they use money to buy parts of other businesses. They mostly help companies that work with new technology. These companies offer goods and services in many different markets. They work in areas like the internet and automation.

Softbank celltower01
Softbank celltower01

SoftBank works by putting money into many different tech fields. They invest in things like robotics and artificial intelligence. They also help companies in software, logistics, and transportation. Some of their businesses focus on biotechnology or even real estate. They own stakes in famous names like Arm, which makes computer chips. They also have stakes in Alibaba, a huge e-commerce site.

SoftBank Hankyu-Ibaraki
SoftBank Hankyu-Ibaraki

They even have a stake in OYO Rooms, which is for hospitality.

Masayoshi Son started the company in September 1981. He was only 24 years old at the time. At first, the business was called SOFTBANK Corp. It began as a company that distributed software. In 1982, they started making computer magazines. One magazine, called Oh! PC, had 140,000 readers by 1989. By 1994, the company was worth $3 billion.

Jan14 01
Jan14 01

Son later became the largest shareholder of the group.

SoftBank uses a very large tool called the Vision Fund. It is the world's largest fund for technology companies. It started with over $100 billion in capital. Many investors helped fund it, including wealthy funds from the Middle East. In 2017, they partnered with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. This partner helped create a fund worth $93 billion.

Vodafone Mobile SHOP ikebukuro japan
Vodafone Mobile SHOP ikebukuro japan

SoftBank also created a second version called Vision Fund 2 in 2019.

Today, SoftBank is working on a massive new project. In January 2025, they announced a plan called Stargate. They will work with OpenAI, MGX, and Oracle on this. They are also working with the U.S. government. The goal is to build an artificial intelligence infrastructure system. This project is expected to cost $500 billion. It will be funded over the next four years.

Softbank celltower01
Softbank celltower01

This project aims to create American-made AI in the United States.

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File:SoftBank Hankyu-Ibaraki.JPG
SoftBank Hankyu-Ibaraki.JPG
File:Softbank in Sendai & the decorations of Sendai Star Festival.JPG
Softbank in Sendai & the decorations of...
File:SONY TH291 (1999) 1 (2759751822).jpg
SONY TH291 (1999) 1 (2759751822).jpg
File:Jan14 01.JPG
Jan14 01.JPG
File:(Real) TV on Mobile (397712891).jpg
(Real) TV on Mobile (397712891).jpg
File:Vodafone Mobile SHOP ikebukuro japan.jpg
Vodafone Mobile SHOP ikebukuro japan.jpg
File:Softbank celltower01.jpg
Softbank celltower01.jpg
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