SoftBank to fund smaller deals after nearly $10.9b annual loss

In the company’s annual general meeting (AGM), SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son said the company will fund fewer and smaller deals as it reported a net loss of around 1.5 trillion yen (nearly US$10.9 billion) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022.

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son / Photo credit: SoftBank

This year, SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 investments amounted to around US$100 million to US$200 million, which was disbursed over 50 funding rounds.

Son said the company would continue to target mid- to long-term growth by investing in the AI sector.

SoftBank is currently invested in 475 companies, though some of its bets have yet to yield results. Its consolidated financial statement reported US$25.2 billion in investment losses.

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Son spent much of his presentation in the AGM on the business prospects for Arm, saying it will likely list on Nasdaq. He noted requests to list the British-based chip designer in London, without indicating whether SoftBank is considering a secondary listing for Arm there.

The AGM also saw the return of eight existing board members, including Son himself, as well as the addition of a new director, David Chao.

Correction (June 27, 11:30 a.m.): This article’s headline orginally said that SoftBank’s annual net loss is US$12.6 million. It has been correted to the right amount: nearly US$10.9 billion.

Currency converted from Japanese yen to US dollar: US$1= 134.74 yen.