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☆ SoftBank's View files for bankruptcy 3 years after its SPAC. Here's how it went from investor darling to problem child.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Glassmaker View Inc. has filed for bankruptcy 3 years after its SPAC and is going private. SoftBank invested $1.1 billion in View, which has been dogged by cash and regulatory troubles. AdvertisementSoftBank has made headlines for prized investments that have filed for bankruptcy, including WeWork, Katerra, and genetic testing business Invitae. There's an addition to the list: View, which raised $1.1 billion from SoftBank in 2018. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: SoftBank, — Organizations: Service, Business Locations: SoftBank, Milpitas , California

☆ Nvidia just showed the world it's the AI daddy
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

AdvertisementIt sure seems like Nvidia is everyone's AI daddy right now. But in case anyone needed another reminder of who the AI daddy is, Nvidia delivered it on Wednesday. Nvidia stock surged as much as 14% in premarket trading Thursday. There are a few reasons why Nvidia has become indispensable to tech firms trying to take advantage of the AI gold rush. Expect Nvidia to remain the AI daddy for the foreseeable future.

Persons: Jensen Huang, Mark Zuckerberg, Huang, Goldman Sachs, Lisa Su, Matt Bryson, Bryson, OpenAI's Sam Altman, SoftBank's, Kathleen Brooks, XTB Organizations: Nvidia, Microsoft, Meta, Reuters, Huawei, Technology, AMD Locations: Santa Clara, China

☆ It's not just Sam Altman trying to throw money at the AI chip shortage
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The race is on to address the AI chip shortage. SoftBank's Masayoshi Son is the latest tech leader who plans to invest heavily in chip production. Chips are needed to train the complex models that underpin AI — but there's not enough to go around. SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son is the latest tech leader to raise funds to tackle the chip shortage. So too are more speculative ambitions being pursued by both Altman and Son, such as the development of artificial general intelligence.

Persons: —, Sam Altman, it's, Masayoshi Son, Altman, Son, Ethan Mollick, ” There's, That's, Mark Zuckerberg, ” Mark Zuckerberg, JOSH EDELSON, Son’s Organizations: Service, Tech, Journal, Izanagi, Bloomberg, Kyodo, Stills, Nvidia, Samsung, Intel, ARM Locations: Tokyo

☆ Portfolio manager says Softbank's Arm is still in its early stages of growth
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailPortfolio manager says Softbank's Arm is still in its early stages of growthRichard Kaye, a portfolio manager at Comgest, says Arm's share price, which has "moved dramatically" since its listing, has "started to understand that."

Persons: Softbank's, Richard Kaye

☆ Masayoshi Son made $72 billion betting on Jack Ma's Alibaba. Now he wants to do it again with AI.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-10 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewMasayoshi Son owes much of his success to an incredibly prescient dot-com era bet on Alibaba. The SoftBank chief first invested $20 million in Jack Ma's ecommerce upstart in 2000, when it was just a year old. That faith was handsomely rewarded, with SoftBank realizing an incredible $72 billion gain on its investments in Alibaba over the course of 23 years. Arm and the Vision Funds collectively represent 70% of SoftBank’s net asset value, a key performance indicator that reflects the total value of its holdings. Arm, SoftBank's latest golden child, is on course to deliver, but there is still much work to be done to get the Vision Funds back on track.

Persons: —, Jack Ma's ecommerce, Ma, Son, Masayoshi Son's, Jack Ma, Alibaba, ChatGPT, Yoshimitsu Goto, SoftBank, Uber, Sam Altman, he'll Organizations: Service, Business, Future Publishing, Vision, Apple, Google, Nvidia, Samsung, Nasdaq, Funds Locations: Alibaba, China, British, London

☆ SoftBank's Arm success is almost like a 'white swan' event, CLSA says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailSoftBank's Arm success is almost like a 'white swan' event, CLSA saysOliver Matthew of CLSA discusses the surge in chip designer Arm's shares and the positive impact that its initial public offering success has had on SoftBank.

Persons: CLSA, Oliver Matthew

☆ SoftBank shares extend their surge, pop more than 15% on earnings beat
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Sheila Chiang | In Sheilachiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 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. Shares of SoftBank Group rose as much as 15.29% Friday morning, a day after the Japanese investment firm posted earnings that beat analysts' expectations. SoftBank's on Thursday posted its first quarterly profit following four quarters of losses, thanks to big gains at its Vision Fund. For the December quarter, SoftBank's net income was 950 billion Japanese yen ($6.36 billion), far exceeding LSEG estimates of 196.5 billion yen. Its flagship tech investment arm the Vision Fund booked investment gains of 600.7 billion Japanese yen, continuing a recovery after record losses in the previous fiscal year.

Persons: Masayoshi Son, SoftBank's, ChatGPT Organizations: Vision, Vision Fund, Nasdaq Locations: China

☆ SoftBank's Vision Fund logs $4 billion gain, its biggest in nearly 3 years, as tech valuations recover
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

SoftBank posted its biggest gain in nearly three years at the flagship tech investment arm, the Vision Fund, in the December quarter amid a recovery in valuation of technology companies. Here's how SoftBank did in the December quarter against LSEG estimates:Net sales: 1.77 trillion Japanese yen ($11.9 billion) versus 1.8 trillion Japanese yen expected. Net income: 950 billion Japanese yen versus 196.5 billion yen expected. The Vision Fund logged a gain on investment of 600.7 billion Japanese yen, continuing a recovery after record losses in the previous fiscal year. That gain is the highest since the March 2021 quarter when the Vision Fund posted a 3.59 trillion yen gain.

Persons: Son, SoftBank Organizations: Nvidia, Vision Fund Locations: China

☆ Arm's post-earnings pop leaves stock trading at over 100% premium to Nvidia
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

That agreement would have involved selling Arm for $40 billion, or just $8 billion more than SoftBank paid in 2016. Instead, Arm went public last year, and the company is now worth over $116 billion after the stock soared 48% on Thursday. SoftBank still owns roughly 90% of the outstanding stock, meaning its stake in Arm increased by over $34 billion in a day. watch nowChipmakers Nvidia and AMD have been Wall Street darlings of late due to their central position in the artificial intelligence boom. 'Gain market share'Arm has a different business model than Nvidia and AMD in that it's largely a technology licensing company.

Persons: Jakub Porzycki, Arm, SoftBank, Lisa Su, Steve Marcus Organizations: Nurphoto, Nvidia, AMD, Intel, Qualcomm Locations: SoftBank, Las Vegas , Nevada, U.S

☆ Arm shares soar after company reports strong earnings and forecast
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Ryan Anastasio | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Shares of chip designer Arm climbed more than 60% on Thursday morning after the company reported better-than-expected earnings Wednesday and a strong profit forecast for the current quarter. The company reported higher-than-expected earnings per share and revenue for the quarter that ended in December. Earnings per share came in at 29 cents adjusted versus the 25 cents expected by analysts, according to LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv. The company also forecast earnings per share for the current quarter to be between 28 cents and 32 cents on sales of $850 million to $900 million. The company sold shares at $51 apiece in its initial public offering and was trading at just below $100 a share Thursday morning.

Persons: Rene Haas, Softbank, —, Kif Leswing Organizations: Nasdaq, Revenue, Softbank Locations: New York

☆ SoftBank said it is shifting from 'Alibaba to AI' — here's what that means
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailSoftBank said it is shifting from 'Alibaba to AI' — here's what that meansSoftBank's Vision Fund posted its highest gain since the March quarter of 2021. The CFO talked about how the company is focusing on investments in artificial intelligence and has reduced its exposure to China, CNBC's Arjun Kharpal reports.

Persons: SoftBank, CNBC's Arjun Kharpal Organizations: Fund Locations: China

☆ SoftBank nets $16 billion on Arm earnings pop, exceeding its total losses in WeWork
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Arm shares rocketed as much as 41% late Wednesday after the chip designer reported revenue and earnings that sailed past analysts' estimates. SoftBank took Arm public in September and still owns about 930 million shares, or roughly 90% of the chip designer's outstanding stock. Arm pared its initial gains, but SoftBank's stake still jumped by almost $16 billion — from close to $71.6 billion to $87.4 billion — after the earnings report. Softbank acquired Arm in 2016 for $32 billion, and its shares were worth just over $47 billion at the time of the IPO last year. The Vision Fund, SoftBank's venture arm, posted a $6.2 billion loss in the second quarter of 2023, tied to WeWork and other soured bets.

Persons: Son, Masayoshi Son's SoftBank, SoftBank, Softbank Organizations: Vision Locations: Tokyo, Arm's, WeWork, Alibaba

☆ Marcelo Claure and Paul Judge bought SoftBank's diversity fund. Now they're trying to raise $200 million for it.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Vishal Persaud | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewFormer SoftBank executive Marcelo Claure and serial entrepreneur and investor Paul Judge are in the throes of raising a new $200 million fund. The past year has been transitional for the fund since Claure and Judge bought the $100 million fund from SoftBank. Since then, there haven't been any new investments, but the two are poised to capitalize on the success of the first fund and are raising the second Open Opportunity Fund. He said that limited partners' interest has been positive overall since the Open Opportunity Fund's first fund has had so much success. AdvertisementJudge said that he expects the first Open Opportunity Fund to continue to deliver "top quartile" returns to its investors over the next five to seven years.

Persons: —, Marcelo Claure, Paul Judge, It's, Claure, haven't, SoftBank —, I've, Judge, George Floyd's, Masayoshi, Shu Nyatta, Stacy Brown, what's Organizations: Service, Business, Opportunity Fund, Opportunity, Fund, Mastercard, Vista Equity Partners, Ventures, Sprint, Bicycle Capital, TechCrunch Locations: SoftBank, Atlanta, America

☆ CNBC Daily Open: Bond yields resurge on Powell’s speech
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Yeo Boon Ping | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Jerome Powell, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, speaks during the 24th Jacques Polak Annual Research Conference in Washington DC, United States on November 09, 2023. This report is from today's CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. But SoftBank still recorded a quarterly loss of 931.1 billion yen — that's around $6.2 billion — on the collapse of WeWork. [PRO] Higher than neutralThe Federal Reserve projects the U.S.' neutral interest rate — the so-called rate at which rates neither encourage nor constrict the economy — to be 2.5%.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Jacques Polak, Hawkish Powell, Powell, there's, Tesla, SoftBank, Goldman Sachs Organizations: U.S . Federal Reserve, Washington DC, CNBC, Nasdaq, AstraZeneca, Azelis, HSBC Global, HSBC, Fund, Federal Reserve Locations: Washington, United States, U.S, Belgian, Tesla's, SoftBank

☆ SoftBank's Vision Fund ekes out gain but company posts $6.2 billion quarterly loss
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

SoftBank posted an investment gain on its Vision Fund in the fiscal second quarter but booked another quarterly loss. Here's how SoftBank did in the September quarter against LSEG estimates:Net sales: 1.67 trillion Japanese yen ($11 billion) versus 1.6 trillion yen expectedNet loss: 931.1 billion yen ($6.2 billion) versus an expected loss of 114.1 billion yenFor the first half of SoftBank's fiscal year, it posted a 1.41 trillion loss ($9.3 billion). This compares to a 3 trillion yen profit in the same period last year. SoftBank's Vision Fund posted an investment gain of 21.3 billion yen, its second straight quarter of gains. Correction: The headline of this article has been updated to reflect a $6.2 billion quarterly loss.

Persons: Masayoshi, SoftBank, Masayoshi Son, Arm Organizations: Vision Fund, Fund, U.S . Locations: U.S, SoftBank, China

☆ SoftBank's WeWork, once most valuable US startup, succumbs to bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

WeWork had office space available at 777 locations worldwide as of the end of June. In a filing with the New Jersey bankruptcy court, WeWork listed assets of $15.06 billion and liabilities of $18.66 billion as of June 30. Under its founder Adam Neumann, WeWork grew to be the most valuable U.S. startup worth $47 billion. WeWork engaged in debt restructurings, yet this was not enough to stave off its bankruptcy. Shortly before WeWork filed for bankruptcy, Neumann said in a statement, "I believe that, with the right strategy and team, a reorganization will enable WeWork to emerge successfully."

Persons: WeWork, SoftBank, Cadwalader, Taft, Kate Munsch, Adam Neumann, Sandeep Mathrani, Mathrani, David Tolley, Neumann, Greg Roumeliotis, Mrinmay Dey, Arun Koyyur, Rashmi Aich, Jamie Freed, Edmund Klamann Organizations: SoftBank, New, REUTERS, JPMorgan Chase, Intelsat, Thomson Locations: Canada, New Jersey, Wickersham, San Francisco , California, U.S, WeWork, SoftBank, Tokyo, New York, Bengaluru

☆ SoftBank makes another bet on WeWork, hoping landlords will too
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Anton Bridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WeWork seeks bankruptcy protectionLIMITED EXPOSUREWeWork's dramatic fall followed lavish predictions about its prospects from SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son, despite immense losses as it grew. Still, it had a credit support deal with the company worth $1.1 billion as of end-June. MST Financial analyst David Gibson said the credit support was significant, but it was not clear how much of it had been withdrawn. SoftBank declined to comment on the credit support. SoftBank owns around 71% of WeWork, which it privately valued at $47 billion at its peak but is now valued at just $44 million.

Persons: SoftBank, Adam Neumann, Neumann, WeWork, Masayoshi Son, Son, David Gibson, Anton Bridge, David Dolan, Miyoung Kim, Mark Potter Organizations: Thomson Locations: TOKYO

☆ SoftBank's WeWork, once most valuable U.S. startup, succumbs to bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Profitability has remained elusive, as WeWork grapples with its expensive leases and corporate clients cancelling because some employees work from home. In a filing with the New Jersey bankruptcy court, WeWork listed estimated assets and liabilities in the range of $10 billon to $50 billion. Under its founder Adam Neumann, WeWork grew to be the most valuable U.S. startup worth $47 billion. WeWork engaged in debt restructurings, yet this was not enough to stave off its bankruptcy. Shortly before WeWork filed for bankruptcy, Neumann said in a statement, "I believe that, with the right strategy and team, a reorganization will enable WeWork to emerge successfully."

Persons: Kate Munsch, WeWork, Cadwalader, Taft, Adam Neumann, SoftBank, Sandeep Mathrani, Mathrani, David Tolley, Neumann, Greg Roumeliotis, Mrinmay Dey, Arun Koyyur Organizations: REUTERS, SoftBank, New, JPMorgan Chase, Intelsat, Thomson Locations: San Francisco , California, U.S, Canada, New Jersey, Wickersham, WeWork, New York, Bengaluru

☆ Kokusai Electric shares pop 32% on Tokyo debut
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Lim Hui Jie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

In this photo illustration, Kokusai Electric logo is seen on a smartphone screen. (Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesShares of Japanese semiconductor equipment maker Kokusai Electric saw a strong debut on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Wednesday. Kokusai Electric is a spin-off from Hitachi Kokusai Electric, a subsidiary of Japanese multinational electronics company Hitachi. He said Kokusai Electric may not be as competitive as its rivals Tokyo Electron or Lasertec , which dominate niche markets in the semiconductor production process. He said applications such as artificial intelligence use logic chips instead of memory chips, which are used in smartphones.

Persons: Pavlo Gonchar, Mio Kato, CNBC's, Mio Kato Lightstream, Kato Organizations: Getty, Kokusai, Tokyo Stock Exchange, Japan Times, Hitachi Kokusai, Hitachi, KKR, Lightstream Research, Tokyo

"This quarter is all about higher interest rates for longer," said Mike Mayo, an analyst at Wells Fargo. "There is a constructive environment, and investment banking fees tend to be higher through the end of the year," said Jason Goldberg, a banking analyst at Barclays. Despite the renewed optimism, investment banking activity remains depressed. As rates rise, bond prices fall, representing losses on paper that would be realized if the banks sold the bonds. More broadly, "we're back into this environment where investors think interest rates are going to remain higher for longer," he said.

Persons: JP Morgan Chase, Mike Segar, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley's, Mike Mayo, Ebrahim Poonawala, Jason Goldberg, Richard Ramsden, James Demmert, Ramsden, Tatiana Bautzer, Saeed Azhar, Lananh Nguyen, Nick Zieminski 私 Organizations: JP, Co, REUTERS, JPMorgan, Citigroup, Wells, Bank of America, Federal Reserve, Wall Street, SoftBank's Arm Holdings, Barclays, U.S, Treasury, Valley Bank, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Reuters, Street Research Locations: New York, Wells Fargo, dealmaking, Israel, Bengaluru

☆ Arm Holdings becomes SoftBank's core asset
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailArm Holdings becomes SoftBank's core assetCNBC's Deirdre Bosa joins 'The Exchange' to discuss bullish reception for Arm's IPO, what the ARM IPO performance means for SoftBank, and the royalties Arm gets from licensing its IP.

Persons: Deirdre Bosa Organizations: ARM

☆ The big AI and robotics concept that has attracted both Walmart and Softbank
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-07 | by ( Tim Mullaney | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +13 min

Softbank also owns 65% of the GreenBox venture, which launched with $100 million in investment by the two companies. They say it's a $500 billion market, and an example of the kind of change AI can bring to the economy at large. But not as many investors know about Softbank's "other" big AI investment, Wilmington, Mass.-based software and robotics maker Symbotic , which Walmart has taken a big stake in itself. Symbotic teamed up with Softbank to build GreenBox in order to preserve its own capital, Cohen told analysts. The GreenBox market for smaller companies shapes up as another $500 billion of possible demand, Gartner's Klappich said.

Persons: Rick Cohen, Softbank, Robert W, Baird, Vikas, Schwarz, Kristin Schwarz, Vikas Parekh, Parekh, Giordano, I've, TD Cowen, Joseph Giordano, GreenBox, Dwight Klappich, Symbotic, Klappich, Mason, Cohen, —, Bill Boyd, Gartner's Klappich, Doug McMillon Organizations: Walmart, CNBC, Gartner, Target, Venture, Arm Holdings, Wholesale, Forbes, Revenue Locations: GreenBox, Wilmington, Mass, Fla

☆ Softbank chief says that those who don't adopt AI are 'goldfish' who will be 'left behind'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Masayoshi Son said AI skeptics are "hallucinators" who will be "left behind." The Softbank founder believes that AI will surpass all human knowledge by 2030. Softbank is reportedly discussing a $1 billion deal with OpenAI and Jony Ive to create the "iPhone of AI." AdvertisementAdvertisementSoftbank CEO Masayoshi Son has slammed AI doubters as "goldfish" and "hallucinators" – and suggested that AI models will be smarter than every human on earth by the end of the decade. AdvertisementAdvertisementHis comments come amid an AI arms race, as major tech companies and investors pour huge amounts of money into artificial intelligence start-ups.

Persons: Masayoshi Son, Softbank, —, –, Son, Anthropic, OpenAI, Johnny Organizations: Service, Wall Street, Amazon, Financial Times, Apple Locations: Tokyo

☆ OpenAI, Jony Ive in talks to raise $1 bln from SoftBank for AI device venture - FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

OpenAI and ChatGPT logos are seen in this illustration taken, February 3, 2023. Sam Altman, OpenAI's chief, has tapped Ive’s company LoveFrom to develop the ChatGPT creator’s first consumer device, the report said. Ive and LoveFrom could not be reached for comment. Tech website The Information first reported on Tuesday that Ive and Altman have been discussing building a new AI hardware device and that Softbank's Son has also been involved in some aspects of the conversation. Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Eileen SorengOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, OpenAI, Jony, Sam Altman, LoveFrom, Altman, Steve Jobs, Kanjyik Ghosh, Rashmi Aich, Eileen Soreng Organizations: REUTERS, Apple, Financial Times, OpenAI's, Tech, Thomson Locations: OpenAI, Bengaluru

☆ SoftBank Corp to raise $800 mln from bond-type shares in Japan first
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Anton Bridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The logo of SoftBank Group Corp is displayed at SoftBank World 2017 conference in Tokyo, Japan, July 20, 2017. SoftBank Corp, the Japanese telecommunications arm of tech investment giant SoftBank Group (9984.T), first proposed the issuance in May, but board approval only came on Monday. The shares will be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Nov. 1, with pricing expected between Oct. 13 and 17. Although classed as equity in accounting terms, the shares offer a set dividend and can be redeemed by SoftBank after a period of five years. As the shares will be publicly listed, they can be purchased through the tax-efficient Nippon Individual Savings Account (NISA), unlike corporate bonds.

Persons: Issei Kato, SoftBank, Urvi, Anton Bridge, Mariko Katsumura, Kim Coghill, Mark Potter Organizations: SoftBank, REUTERS, SoftBank Corp, Tokyo Stock Exchange, Bankers, Savings, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Japan's, Bengaluru, Anton

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