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☆ SoftBank's Vision Fund posts fourth straight quarter of losses as tech slump hits Japanese giant
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

SoftBank's Vision Fund, the brainchild of the company's founder Masayoshi Son, has faced a number of headwinds including a slump in technology stocks as a result of rising interest rates, a tough China market and geopolitics. SoftBank's flagship investment arm the Vision Fund posted its fourth straight quarterly loss on Tuesday as a slump in technology valuations continues to hit the Japanese giant. The Vision Fund segment posted a pre-tax loss of 660 billion Japanese yen ($5 billion) for the December quarter. SoftBank's Vision Fund's loss on investments came in at 730.35 billion yen over the three-month period. SoftBank Group overall reported a net loss of 783.4 billion yen, sinking back to a quarterly loss after posting a profit in the July-to-September quarter.

☆ SoftBank Q3 seen under pressure from tech weakness, Arm IPO eyed
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Kiyoshi Takenaka | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SoftBank has said the initial public offering (IPO) is unlikely to take place during the current business year that ends in March due to market conditions. SoftBank is expected to post a net profit of 103.7 billion yen ($806.13 million) for the latest quarter, according to analysts' average estimate compiled by Refinitiv. That compares with a 29 billion yen profit a year earlier. SoftBank bought Arm, whose technology underpins the global smartphone industry and is used in supercomputers, for $32 billion in 2016. read moreOne notable change to SoftBank's quarterly announcement this time around is the lack of founder and chief executive Masayoshi Son's colourful presentation, which has been a regular feature of SoftBank's earnings disclosure.

☆ Zopa raises $92 million as SoftBank sits out funding round
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro | Iain Withers | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Japanese conglomerate previously led a 220 million pound funding round in late 2021 that valued Zopa at roughly $1 billion. Zopa did not disclose a price tag for the funding round but said it "cements" its unicorn status, awarded to start-ups worth upwards of $1 billion. London-based Zopa started out as a peer-to-peer lender in 2005 and later moved to banking, amassing 2 billion pounds of consumer loans and more than 3 billion pounds of customer savings. In the meantime, Zopa will use the fresh cash to explore potential acquisitions, including of companies of similar size, Janardana said. The company is also considering raising 25 million pounds to 100 million pounds of Tier-2 debt later in the year to firm up its balance sheet, Janardana said, adding that the plans are contingent on the cost of debt.

☆ 11 podcasts that busy venture capitalists and founders say they trust right now
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Robin Madell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Investors at JetBlue Ventures, Mighty Capital, and other VC firms shared their favorite podcasts. Another recommendation is "Origins" by partners at the biotech VC firm Notation Capital. Here are 11 great options, recommended by VCs, founders, CEOs, and other industry insiders. "The main thing about the VC world is building relationships, and Harry is an example of a great networker," Gershfeld said. "BTC is the single-most important asset in the world, and that podcast gets to the heart of why that is."

Parafin, launched in 2020, works with so-called platform partners, or companies that other small businesses sell their products through. All the cofounders knew was that they wanted to build technology that would help small businesses. And they may not get their first contract payment from the government for as long as 120 days," Reed, the startup's CEO, told Insider. Helping small businesses manage their taxesComplYant's founder Shiloh Jackson wants to help people be present in their bookkeeping. HoneyBookWhile countless small businesses have been harmed by the pandemic, self-employment and entrepreneurship have found ways to blossom as Americans started new ventures.

☆ This year's blockbuster IPO is between a rock and a hard place: listing in New York or London won't change Arm's fortunes in brutal downturn
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

ARM is preparing for an IPO in 2023 that couldn't come at a more tricky time. This pushed SoftBank to reposition Arm for the public markets as the Japanese firm seeks to generate profits from assets that can offset losses in its venture capital business. Figures from EY suggest that after a record year of listings in 2021, last year's IPO market went into reverse mode. SpaceX is another big company around which IPO talks have been swirling, the rocket company led by Elon Musk. Chip sector in turmoilArm's other challenge with going public in 2023 lies in the state of the chip sector: it's down.

☆ Fanatics is divesting its 60% stake in NFT company Candy Digital
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Ian Thomas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Michael Rubin's sports platform company Fanatics is divesting its 60% stake in NFT company Candy Digital, according to an internal email obtained by CNBC. Candy Digital was founded in June 2021 in the middle of the sports NFT boom, competing with companies like Dapper Labs in the digital sports collectible space. It also released digital collectibles with Netflix 's Stranger Things, WWE , and several Nascar teams. Dapper Labs, the company behind NBA Top Shot and NFL All Day digital trading platforms that ranked No. "Over the past year, it has become clear that NFTs are unlikely to be sustainable or profitable as a standalone business," Rubin wrote.

☆ Five Chinese startups that survived a tough year of Covid lockdowns
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Qilai Shen | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesBEIJING — In a year of Covid lockdowns and travel restrictions, some Chinese startups that survived found growth online and overseas. The startup avoided significant impact from China's Covid lockdowns since it could deliver its products virtually, Jiang said. The company aggressively pushed overseas in 2022 – launching subsidiaries in Tokyo, Seoul, Germany, Dubai, Los Angeles and Hong Kong, Wan said. Previously, Wan said that Keenon had seen revenue at least double or more every year from a lower base, when the China market was growing. The company has a staff of 100 people in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong and Los Angeles, Lin said.

☆ Here's what Charles Schwab's Liz Ann Sonders has to say about the economy, her favorite book, and investing in a recession
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Today's newsletter features my conversation with Liz Ann Sonders of Charles Schwab, and why she thinks the economy's already in a recession. Charles SchwabLiz Ann Sonders is the chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab. Phil Rosen: Can you explain your "rolling recession" assessment of the US economy? Liz Ann Sonders: Typically when you go into a recession, everything's sort of hit all at once. Read the full interview with Liz Ann Sonders here.

☆ 2023 is shaping up to be a big year for dealmaking in live sports. Here's why.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Big deals for the big (and little) screen. Next year is shaping up to be a big one for media deals. Like many other industries, media quickly turned quiet on the dealmaking front this year as the economy soured. However, a stabilization of interest rates, along with money burning a hole in investors' pockets, could lead to a big 2023, insiders say. The landscape for media deals is fascinating when you consider the two opposing forces, as Lucia pointed out to me.

☆ Inside SoftBank Vision Fund's awful, terrible, really bad year. How the venture fund tumbled, according to former employees, investors and rival VCs.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | Ben Bergman | Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

SoftBank's Vision Fund just experienced one of its most dismal years in its history. SoftBank's Vision Fund was once a power broker, having raised a jaw-dropping $100 billion in 2017, followed by plans to raise $108 billion for Vision Fund 2 in 2019 — two of the largest venture-investing vehicles ever established. But insiders are now questioning if it will ever regain influence, according to 11 ex-Vision Fund investors, former employees, VCs, and industry analysts who weighed in on the future of the Vision Fund. One ex-Vision Fund investor described Son, now taking the reins of Vision Fund 2, as someone who is "not a manager." Given its investing performance so far, the obvious question is what happens once Vision Fund 2 has reached full investment.

☆ Buzzy startups failed to fix mental-health care. Now their mistakes are fueling the space's next generation.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Blake Dodge | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

In the past two years, highly funded startups have tried to disrupt mental-health care. The startups said they wanted to help solve the industry's biggest problems: Mental-health care is too expensive, and there isn't enough of it to go around. Talkspace's priority is now its division that sells mental-health care to employers, which pay recurring fees for employee access. Startups tackling more serious mental-health conditions are working with health plansThere's also a rising crop of mental-health companies tackling the costliest mental-health conditions, something the direct-to-consumer firms tend to shy away from. About half of Bicycle's patients pay with their insurance, a number he's looking to increase.

☆ Indian shares down on concerns over Fed's rate posture
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Praveen Paramasivam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Indian shares slipped on Thursday, mirroring the weakness in Asian peers, amid growing signs that the Federal Reserve might not temper its aggressive monetary policy anytime soon. Meanwhile, Asia-Pacific shares ex-Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) slid a steeper 1.47%, with analysts pinning the smaller drop in local equities to India's fiscal health and economic growth prospects. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly even said a pause was off the table. The Fed's stance could trigger "bouts of volatility," said Prashanth Tapse, vice president of research at Mehta Equities. "Traders are not uncomfortable with the high valuation of Indian markets, hence periodic profit-taking will continue."

☆ Japan's SoftBank books hefty Vision Fund loss but returns to quarterly profit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Kiyoshi Takenaka | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Japan's SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) on Friday unveiled a loss at its sprawling Vision Fund investment arm for the third straight quarter, even as the tech company posted a net profit from selling some of its stake in China's Alibaba (9988.HK). Vision Fund upended the world of venture capital with splashy bets on startups, but it has been hammered in recent quarters by a global tech rout, prompting SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son to sharply scale back fresh investments. Investment losses at flagship unit Vision Fund were 1.38 trillion yen ($9.75 billion) in the three months to September 30 as the value of its portfolio continued to slide. At SoftBank itself, net profit came to 3.03 trillion yen in the July-September second quarter. In the first quarter the group had posted a 3.16 trillion yen loss.

☆ Japan's SoftBank returns to quarterly profit but unveils more Vision Fund pain
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

SoftBank's Vision Fund, the brainchild of the company's founder Masayoshi Son, has faced a number of headwinds including a slump in technology stocks as a result of rising interest rates, a tough China market and geopolitics. Japan's SoftBank Group Corp reported its first quarterly profit in three quarters, buoyed by the sale of some of its stake in China's Alibaba even as its massive Vision Fund posted another heavy quarterly loss. Investment losses at flagship unit Vision Fund were 1.38 trillion yen ($9.75 billion) in the three months to September 30 as the value of its portfolio continued to slide. At SoftBank itself, net profit came to 3.03 trillion yen in the July-September second quarter. In the first quarter, the group had posted a 3.16 trillion yen loss.

☆ SoftBank faces tech stock weakness at Q2 earnings
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, Nov 7 (Reuters) - SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) is expected to face further weakness in tech stocks when it reports second-quarter earnings on Friday, after two brutal quarters that have shaken Masayoshi Son's tech conglomerate. The Vision Fund investing arm booked $50 billion in losses in the six months to end-June as valuations slid. Founder and Chief Executive Son has moved to cut headcount and refocus the second fund on managing its existing portfolio. Alibaba (9988.HK), , which SoftBank has been selling to raise cash, has fallen more than 40% year-to-date. "For most/all funding needs, SBG will use Alibaba shares to defend its balance sheet or stock price," Goyal wrote.

☆ SoftBank plans at least 30% staff cuts to Vision Fund, source confirms
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Masayoshi Son, CEO of SoftBank, has been weighing up various options for chipmaker Arm after Nvidia walked away from buying the company. SoftBank is planning to cut at least 30% of staff at its ambitious investment arm, the Vision Fund, a source confirmed to CNBC's Deirdre Bosa. At least 150 out of 500 Vision Fund workers will be impacted by the cuts, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the news on Thursday. SoftBank Founder Masayoshi Son had foreshadowed cost cutting and a more conservative investment approach this summer after the company posted a $21.6 billion quarterly loss for the Vision Fund. Still, he said at the time, Vision Fund headcount may need to be "reduced dramatically" with "cost reduction" needed across units.

NEW YORK/TOKYO, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Japan's SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) is cutting around 150 staff globally at its Vision Fund unit and SoftBank Group International, a person familiar with the matter said, as CEO Masayoshi Son retrenches following huge loss on his tech bets. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe cuts will affect staff in the investment teams and back-office staff in departments such as finance and legal, a second source said. The cuts also encompass SoftBank Group International, which was led by Marcelo Claure before he exited the firm and which manages other group investments. Vision Fund has radically scaled back investing activity, with Son saying SoftBank's second Vision Fund would primarily manage its existing portfolio. SoftBank has sold down its stake in key asset Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (9988.HK) and outlined plans to list Arm.

☆ International VCs flooded Latin America in 2021. Some are wondering whether they'll ever see returns.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Darius Rafieyan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

2021 was a record year for venture capital in Latin America; deal activity increased by over 260%. 2021 was a record-breaking year for venture capital investment in Latin America, with the region's deal activity increasing by more than 260%, according to data from PitchBook. In 2021 alone, Latin America minted nine unicorns, or private companies worth more than $1 billion. As of August, Latin America had only $600 million in new fundraising, compared with $3.6 billion in all of 2021. "It did get very overheated," said Ryan Bloomer, a managing partner at K50 Ventures, which has been investing in Latin America since 2016.

☆ Gone are the days of chunky bonuses and salary increases. Wall Street's top brass are ready to trim their workforces as annual staff cuts return.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Aaron Weinman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

It's a shift from this time last year, when junior bankers scored significant pay bumps, dealmaking reached record-breaking highs, and investment bankers prepared themselves for some of the chunkiest bonuses they'd ever received. Per this story from Bloomberg, however, the layoffs should not be as severe as what Wall Street experienced after market crashes in 1987 and 2008. For many, the return of staff cuts is kind of a return to normalcy. Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images2. Credit Suisse is planning on splitting its investment bank into three parts, according to the Financial Times. The US Securities and Exchange Commission will let Wall Street keep payment-for-order flow, per Bloomberg.

☆ FTX in talks to raise up to $1 billion at valuation of about $32 billion, in-line with prior round
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Kate Rooney | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto conglomerate FTX is in talks with investors to raise up to $1 billion in new funding that would keep the company's valuation at roughly $32 billion, according to people with knowledge of the discussions. Negotiations are ongoing and the terms could change, said the sources, who asked not to be named because the talks are confidential. Coindesk previously reported on a coming investment at flat valuation, following FTX's last capital raise in January. FTX also offered to buy bankrupt crypto brokerage Voyager Digital in August but was turned down for what was called a "low ball bid." FTX saw net income of $388 million last year, up from just $17 million a year earlier.

☆ Samsung Elec's Lee says SoftBank's Son expected to visit Seoul when asked about Arm-media
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterSEOUL, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) Vice chairman Jay Y. Lee said on Wednesday that SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) CEO Masayoshi Son is expected to visit Seoul next month when asked about British chip designer Arm Ltd, multiple South Korean media reported. Son may "make a proposal," South Korean wire service News1 reported citing Lee, without elaborating. Lee said this in answer to a press question about whether he met Arm executives during his recent visit to Britain, according to News1. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterSouth Korean media have speculated Samsung may participate in a potential joint acquisition of a stake in Arm. read moreRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Joyce Lee and Heekyong Yang; editing by Jason Neely and Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Retail tech firm Swiftly just became the latest startup to enter the unicorn club. Meet the 6 other adtech firms that reached $1 billion valuations despite the economic downturn.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Elizabeth Pham Janowski | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Retail tech firm Swiftly is the latest unicorn after a $100 million funding round in September. It was the company's second $100-million funding round in the past six months. SwiftlyUnicorn as of: September 2022Total funding to date: $210 million, according to SwiftlyMost recent valuation: $1.1-1.2 billion, according to SwiftlyFive-year-old Swiftly is the newest adtech startup to enter the unicorn club. Its rise to over $1 billion value came from a $100 million Series C round led by BRV Capital Management, announced Monday. In February, the six-year-old company closed on a $150 million Series C funding round led by Tiger Global Management.

☆ SoftBank's View just narrowly escaped running out of money. Here's how it went from investor darling to one of the worst SPAC deals ever.
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-08 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | Aaron Weinman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

The California glassmaker announced on October 27 that it raised $200 million in convertible senior notes due in 2027. View has struggled since going public less than two years ago via SPAC, and was nearly delisted by the New York Stock Exchange for failing to file numerous financial statements. For those looking from the outside, View's troubles came on suddenly, but insiders said the company burned cash and struggled with product failures for years. Insider spoke with 27 former employees and two current employees across View's finance, sales, marketing, factory-operations, engineering, recruiting, and IT departments. "He's always been able to pull a rabbit out of a hat when it comes to procuring more money for the company," one banker familiar with View said.

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