SoftBank delivered an unexpected loss for the April-June quarter, leaving many in the market surprised. Nevertheless, the Japanese tech behemoth reported an uncommon gain from its sizable Vision Fund, dedicated to technology. SoftBank, working on reducing its shares in Alibaba in an attempt to recover from last year’s tech share nosedive, unveiled an unrealized loss of 553.4 billion yen on its Alibaba holdings. This blow was somewhat cushioned by a noteworthy derivative gain amounting to 769.9 billion yen.
In the previous quarter, SoftBank’s Vision Fund, known for supporting some tech giants like Uber and South Korea’s e-commerce powerhouse Coupang, experienced a staggering $32 billion deficit. Even after parting ways with its final stake in Uber, SoftBank registered further financial setbacks from its bets on SenseTime, an AI frontrunner from China, and GoTo, a notable ride-hailing and e-commerce platform from Indonesia.
SoftBank, prominent in the venture capital realm via its Vision Fund, has navigated a roller-coaster of financial outcomes. The firm pressed pause on new investments, sold off its shares in the ride-hailing colossus Uber, and downsized its commitment to Alibaba.
The investment community has been keen to understand SoftBank’s trajectory, given the bullish performance of tech stocks recently. Tech mammoths, including Alphabet and Amazon, have witnessed a surge in their stock prices since the year’s commencement, as market optimism anticipates a halt in the consistent surge of interest rates.
Another point of interest is SoftBank’s potential benefit from the skyrocketing demand for artificial intelligence, especially with the emergence of ChatGPT, a sought-after AI chatbot crafted by OpenAI, a Silicon Valley newcomer. While SoftBank has previously demonstrated caution in a challenging market landscape, it doesn’t hide its ambition to harness the potential of the unfolding “AI revolution