SoftBank's US$100b tech fund rankles VCs as valuations soar

San Francisco

EARLIER this month SoftBank led a US$502 million investment in a London-based virtual reality startup called Improbable Worlds. Less than two years ago, the startup was worth about US$100 million. Then SoftBank came along, and suddenly it was worth 10 times that. Overnight, Improbable Worlds had become a unicorn.

In the months since SoftBank Group Corp unveiled plans for a US$100 billion technology fund, the Japanese company has been making its presence deeply felt across the industry. The Vision Fund closed a few days ago with US$93 billion in initial commitments, and already venture firms from London to Silicon Valley are fretting about a behemoth with the resources, clout and name recognition to snatch away the most promising deals.