SoftBank’s Vision Funds post annual gain of $4.6b in FYE March 2024

Photo credit: SoftBank

SoftBank’s Vision Funds have posted an annual gain of 724.3 billion yen (US$4.6 billion) in the financial year ended March 2024, over a loss of US$33.8 billion during the previous financial year.

This result included gains associated with the Vision Funds’ investments in chipmaker Arm and other subsidiaries of SoftBank.

For the quarter ended March 2024, the two Vision Funds, including the LatAm funds, reported a loss of US$369 million on investments.

However, both Vision Funds sold a total of US$22 billion in investments in FYE March 2024. This includes full exits from 17 portfolio companies, including Arm, as well as partial exits from other portfolio firms.

While Vision Fund 1 has investments in companies such as ByteDance, DiDi, GoTo, and Grab, Vision Fund 2 has made bets on Carro, Cars24, and Flipkart.

Overall, SoftBank Group reported a net income of US$1.3 billion for FYE March 2024, a turnaround from a US$5 billion net loss in the previous financial year.

SoftBank has been making a shift in its strategy, focusing on an AI-centric portfolio. Founder Masayoshi Son is reportedly considering raising US$100 billion for an AI chip venture that could rival US-based Nvidia.

Arm, SoftBank’s chipmaker subsidiary, is also gearing up to launch AI-powered chips by 2025.

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Currency converted from Japanese yen to US dollar: US$1 = 155.8 yen.