SoftBank trims Vision Fund staff to double down on $500B AI bet

SoftBank Group is cutting 20% of Vision Fund jobs worldwide as founder Masayoshi Son moves money into big artificial intelligence projects, including a $500 billion U.S. data center plan with OpenAI.

This is the third round of Vision Fund layoffs since 2022, but it comes after the fund’s best quarter in more than two years. The move shows Son is turning away from many small startup bets and focusing on big, concentrated AI projects.

SoftBank cuts Vision Fund staff to sharpen AI focus

One in five employees out of the 300+ that SoftBank’s Vision Fund hires worldwide will lose their jobs to AI. Earlier layoffs happened when the fund struggled with heavy losses from risky bets on companies like WeWork that failed to deliver long-term value. The group had to sell its assets and reduce its activities to rebuild trust with investors. 

All that has changed now because the Vision Fund announced its strongest results since mid-2021, thanks to gains in companies like Nvidia and Coupang. So the fact that these job cuts are coming after strong results shows that the company is planning something big for the long term. 

A spokesperson for the Vision Fund said the company wants to focus on “bold, high-conviction investments in AI and breakthrough technologies,” which means it will put its money on fewer projects but with bigger risks. This differs from when it invested in hundreds of startups and tried to capture growth wherever possible. 

Founder Masayoshi Son even said the company’s future depends on AI and wants to move more people, time, and money into that area. The cysts aren’t just about saving money, but also preparing the Vision Fund to play a new role in AI and rebuild its position as one of the most influential investment funds worldwide. 

Son leads $500B push into data centers and AI models

Masayoshi Son announced a $500 billion plan called the Stargate project to build a large network of data centers across the United States. The company aims to work with OpenAI to ensure these data centers can provide the huge amount of computing power that modern artificial intelligence systems need.

SoftBank has also been investing a lot of money into OpenAI. Vision Fund invested $9.7 billion into OpenAI through Vision Fund 2 (controls around $65.8 billion in assets overall). Son believes OpenAI and its foundation models will transform many different industries and create brand-new markets that don’t exist yet. 

Son also wants to build an ecosystem with AI chips that provide raw computing power and data centers that host the models and the foundation models that power applications. SoftBank has invested in chip design companies like Graphcore and Ampere Computing, and bought shares in companies like Intel and Nvidia to access the most advanced chips. It also owns its own chip design company, Arm, whose technology is used in billions of devices worldwide.

There are still risks involved with Son’s vision because the Stargate project in the United States needs large amounts of money, land, power, and advanced technology. Reports have already shown that the project faces delays. A similar joint project in Japan with OpenAI has also experienced problems, and these delays prove that even a company as experienced and well-funded as SoftBank can face unexpected challenges that slow down progress.

Financial leaders at SoftBank have tried to convince investors that the company was always ready to handle such challenges. Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto said SoftBank holds about 4 trillion yen (around $27 billion) in cash reserves ready to invest in new projects while leaving enough behind to deal with delays. 

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