SoftBank founder chases boyhood dreams with US$100b Vision Fund

Tokyo

WHEN Masayoshi Son was a boy growing up on Japan's southern island of Kyushu, he kept a notebook to scribble down new inventions he hoped to create one day. Today, the SoftBank founder has almost US$100 billion to invest on making the next big thing a reality.

Mr Son's SoftBank Group Corp closed the first round of a planned US$100 billion investment fund, with money raised from Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, as well as Apple Inc and Qualcomm Inc. The Vision Fund gives the 59-year-old access to a pool of capital unparalleled in the worlds of private equity or venture capital - the equivalent of four Silver Lakes or 15 Sequoia Capitals.

Mr Son isn't one for understatement. He has said, without irony, that he has a 300-year plan for SoftBank and aims to build the world's most valuable company. With the Vision Fund, he vows to become the biggest investor in tech over the next decade, as he bets on the future of artificial intelligence, connected devices, satellites and the integration of computers and humans. Indeed in April, he led the US$5.5 billion investment in …