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SoftBank Group

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SoftBank Group is a massive Japanese multinational investment holding company.

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

It is headquartered in the Minato district of Tokyo. The company focuses primarily on investment management. This means they use large amounts of capital to buy stakes in other businesses. They target companies that operate in high-tech sectors. These businesses provide goods and services across many different industries. Their reach extends from the internet to advanced automation.

SoftBank Hankyu-Ibaraki
SoftBank Hankyu-Ibaraki

The company operates through a complex mechanism of investing in diverse technologies. They provide capital to companies working in robotics and artificial intelligence. They also support firms in software, logistics, and transportation. Other areas of interest include biotechnology, proptech, and e-commerce. SoftBank holds significant international stockholdings in several famous companies. These include Arm, which specializes in semiconductors. They also hold stakes in Alibaba for e-commerce and OYO Rooms for hospitality.

Vodafone Mobile SHOP ikebukuro japan
Vodafone Mobile SHOP ikebukuro japan

SoftBank manages several distinct types of business interests and funds. One major part is the Vision Fund, which is the world's largest technology-focused venture capital fund. This fund uses massive amounts of capital to back new ideas. They also have the SoftBank Vision Fund 2, which was created in 2019. This second fund focuses specifically on AI-based technology. Additionally, SoftBank Corporation exists as a spun-out affiliate. It serves as a major wireless carrier in Japan. As of March 2021, it had 45.621 million subscribers.

Softbank celltower01
Softbank celltower01

The history of the company began in September 1981. A 24-year-old named Masayoshi Son founded the business as SOFTBANK Corp. Initially, the company worked as a software distributor. By May 1982, they entered the publishing industry. They launched magazines like Oh! PC and Oh! MZ. By 1989, Oh! PC had a circulation of 140,000 copies. The company grew quickly and went public in 1994. At that time, the company was valued at $3 billion.

Jan14 01
Jan14 01

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, SoftBank made many famous moves. In 2000, they made a very successful $20 million investment in Alibaba. This single investment grew to $60 billion when Alibaba went public in 2014. In 2006, they bought Vodafone Japan. This gave them a major stake in the mobile market. They later rebranded this service as SoftBank Mobile. In 2016, they completed their largest deal ever. They bought the British chip designer Arm Holdings for over $32 billion.

SoftBank Hankyu-Ibaraki
SoftBank Hankyu-Ibaraki

The scale of SoftBank's finances is quite significant. In 2017, they partnered with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. This partnership created the $93 billion Vision Fund. SoftBank contributed $28 billion to this specific fund. They raised some of this money by selling shares of Arm. In the 2025 Forbes Global 2000 list, SoftBank was ranked as the 130th largest public company in the world. This shows their massive global economic presence.

Softbank celltower01
Softbank celltower01

SoftBank is currently involved in a massive future project called Stargate. Announced on January 21, 2025, this project involves several partners. They are working with OpenAI, MGX, and Oracle. They are also collaborating with the United States government. The goal is to build an artificial intelligence infrastructure system. This project is estimated to cost $500 billion. It will be funded over the next four years. The aim is to develop American-made AI within the United States.

Softbank celltower01
Softbank celltower01
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🖼️ Images & Media (7)
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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