SoftBank Group Corp’s CEO Masayoshi Son said he plans to devote the bulk of his time on doubling down on the firm’s ambitious tech investment strategy.
![Softbank](https://www.tahawultech.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/softbank_son_masayoshi_getty.jpg)
“I have spent 97 percent of my time on managing the telecoms business and only 3 percent on investing,” Son said, noting that the firm is pushing through with shifting its strategic focus.
SoftBank which owns Japan’s third-largest telecoms operator has emerged in recent years as one of the world’s largest tech investors, acquiring stakes in companies including Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, and UK chipmaker ARM Holdings.
The SoftBank CEO signaled that such dealmaking will become even more of a focus for SoftBank.
Son’s comments fit with a transformation taking place at SoftBank from domestic telecoms powerhouse to “unicorn hunter” – as Son terms it – focusing on late stage startups around the world.
Last month, SoftBank invested $2.25 billion in GM Cruise, the carmaker’s autonomous vehicle unit, complementing its shareholdings in China’s Didi Chuxing, the world’s largest ride-sharing app, as well as rivals Uber, Grab and Ola.
In 2017, SoftBank’s Vision Fund attracted $93 billion in contributions, aided by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company, Apple, Foxconn and others, making it the world’s largest buyout fund.
The Vision Fund also has a strong relationship with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which invested $45 billion in the tech fund.