News
Softbank reports massive $18bn operating loss at its Vision Fund
Japan’s SoftBank Group reported an annual 1.9 trillion yen ($18 billion) operating loss at its gargantuan Vision Fund, as its tech bets slide Read more…
SoftBank
News
Vision turns to illusion for Softbank’s Masayoshi Son
SoftBank Group Corp founder Masayoshi Son’s dream of a global tech empire is unravelling as his Vision Fund becomes more of an illusion. Read more…
Views
SoftBank’s investment strategy fails big – but it can still fail well
We always hear how digital companies must embrace failure, so should we really be freaking out over SoftBank’s investment flops? Well no, not yet. Read more…
News
Softbank expects $16.5bn loss, its first for 15 years
SoftBank expects its $100 billion Vision Fund to lose $16.5bn due to the worsening performance of its tech bets, its first loss for 15 years. Read more…
News
SoftBank-backed AI startup CloudMinds slashing workforce
SoftBank-backed cloud robotics and artificial intelligence startup CloudMinds is slashing its global workforce as it burns through cash. Read more…
News
SoftBank’s $3bn WeWork financing talks stall with Japan banks
SoftBank Group Corp’s talks to secure $3 billion from Japan’s three biggest banks have stalled as the lenders have hit internal lending limits to the firm. Read more…
News
SoftBank to merge Yahoo Japan with Line creating $30bn giant
SoftBank Corp plans to merge internet subsidiary Yahoo Japan with messaging app operator Line Corp to create a $30 billion tech group Read more…
News
Indian regulator investigates MakeMyTrip over Softbank bias
Indian regulator will investigate allegations that hotel-booking service MakeMyTrip gives special treatment to SoftBank-backed hotel chain Oyo. Read more…
News
Softbank companies start earnings reports with rise in profits
Japanese IT services firm SB Technology booked a 41% rise in quarterly profit, marking the season’s first earnings report of dozens of SoftBank Group. Read more…
News
Grab ups the ante in on-going battle with Gojek
Grab is in talks to merge OVO, an Indonesian digital payments firm, with an Ant Financial-backed local peer to build heft and power ahead of archrival Gojek. Read more…
Off the Wire
SoftBank selects Nokia for 5G RAN in Japan
Japanese telecoms operator, Softbank Corp., has selected Nokia as a strategic partner to drive its commercial 5G offering with the Nokia AirScale solution. Read more…
News
Softbank shares jump after record buyback and profit surge
SoftBank shares jumped 17% on Thursday, adding $14bn to market value, after it unveiled a record share buyback and a surge in quarterly operating profit. Read more…
News
Groove X unveils ‘affectionate’ companion robot in Japan
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese startup Groove X, founded by an alumni of SoftBank Group Corp’s robotics unit, unveiled its first creation on Tuesday – a companion robot designed to make users happy. The Lovot, an Read more…
News
SoftBank networks hit by Ericsson software glitch
SoftBank, the third largest mobile operator inJapan, suffered a service disruption on its mobile and fixed-line networks due to faulty software from its equipment supplier Ericsson, which also impacted the vendor’s customers outside of Japan. Read more…
News
SoftBank is clear to launch $21b telecoms unit IPO
TOKYO (Reuters) – SoftBank Group has won approval to conduct a 2.4 trillion yen ($21.04 billion) initial public offering (IPO) of its domestic telecoms business, in a deal that will seal the group’s transformation into Read more…
News
Toyota and SoftBank team up for self-driving car services
TOKYO (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp and SoftBank Group are teaming up to develop self-driving car services, signalling deepening alliances between top automaker and tech firms as the global race to develop autonomous cars intensifies. Read more…
News
SoftBank promises free electricity to solar alliance in 25 years
(Reuters) – Japan’s SoftBank Group has proposed to offer free electricity, after 25 years, to International Solar Alliance (IS) member-countries that sign power purchase agreements (PPA), chief executive Masayoshi Son said at a renewable energy Read more…
Off the Wire
SoftBank experiments with NIDD for IP-free IoT services
SoftBank announced that it has completed what it claims is the world’s first connection test in a commercial environment for NIDD (non-IP data delivery), which has been newly defined by the 3GPP for NB-IoT to enhance Read more…
Off the Wire
SoftBank and parters demo blockchain-based RCS payments
SoftBank, Synchronoss Technologies and TBCASoft have partnered on a proof of concept (PoC) for a new cross-carrier mobile payments service based on the RCS global messaging standard and TBCASoft’s cross-carrier blockchain platform. Earlier this year, Read more…
News
Flipkart/ARM selloffs boost Softbank’s Q1 profit
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s SoftBank Group reported a 49% jump in quarterly profit on Monday, boosted by the sale of its stake in Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart in the first public divestment by the conglomerate’s Read more…