SoftBank Group (OTC:SFTBBF) is a Japanese holding company that focuses on investment management. The company was formerly a software distributor but evolved over the years and now invests in public and private businesses through its venture capital funds.
It is best known for the SoftBank Vision Fund, the world's largest venture capital fund focused on technology businesses. SoftBank is also one of the largest publicly traded companies in Japan.
Although Japanese, the company manages capital for clients worldwide, including several Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds. The Vision Fund's largest investor is Saudi Arabia, and it has also received investments from Apple (AAPL -2.78%), Qualcomm (QCOM -0.67%), and several other large technology companies.
What it owns
What companies does Softbank own?
Over the years, SoftBank has invested in many companies in industries such as software, real estate, robotics, telecommunications, e-commerce, finance, and more. It has been a holding company since 1999 and has made some highly successful (and some not-so-successful) investments.
SoftBank was an early investor in Alibaba (NASDAQ:BABA) and owns stakes in T-Mobile (TMUS 1.49%), Arm Holdings (ARM -6.09%), Lemonade (NASDAQ:LMND), and Nvidia (NVDA -1.95%). Here's a list of some of SoftBank's most prominent current investments and some notable previous investments it has exited.
Alibaba
Alibaba is SoftBank's most successful investment in its history, acquiring a stake in the business in 2000 for $20 million. When Alibaba went public in late 2014, SoftBank's investment had grown to about $60 billion. Today, SoftBank owns a 29.5% stake in Alibaba worth about $55 billion as of March 2024.
T-Mobile
SoftBank invested in Sprint Nextel years ago, and when T-Mobile acquired Sprint in 2020, SoftBank was left with a 24% stake in the combined business. After divesting some of its ownership, SoftBank owned about 7.4% of T-Mobile in early 2024, according to regulatory filings.
Divest
Divesting means getting rid of or reducing your position in an asset. Divestiture can occur at the individual or corporate level.
WeWork
SoftBank invested $4.4 million into WeWork in 2017. The company's planned 2019 initial public offering (IPO) was scrapped, and WeWork subsequently went public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in 2021.
However, it ended up filing for bankruptcy in 2023. At that time, SoftBank had invested a total of $16 million in the co-working giant. Although WeWork is currently in bankruptcy, SoftBank still owns a 46% stake as of early 2024.
Nvidia
SoftBank owns a 0.04% stake in graphics processing unit (GPU) maker Nvidia. This might not sound like a ton, but because of Nvidia's massive size, this is still a $520 million investment. Investing in artificial intelligence (AI) technology is a big priority of SoftBank's leadership, so it's unsurprising to find shares of the dominant leader in AI-focused chips in its portfolio.
Lemonade
SoftBank owns a 17.4% stake in insurance technology company Lemonade. This has been an unsuccessful investment so far. Through early 2024, Lemonade shares had fallen roughly 80% from the price SoftBank paid. Lemonade's business is growing rapidly and making clear progress toward profitability, but SoftBank invested at a time when the stock was very highly valued.
Compass
SoftBank invested over $1 billion in real estate start-up Compass (COMP 0.47%) in 2023. Although it sold some of its shares in late 2023, it still owns about 21.2% of the outstanding shares. Compass provides an online real estate platform that includes software for customer relationship management, operations, client services, and more.
Arm Holdings
SoftBank owned semiconductor company Arm Holdings in its entirety prior to its 2023 IPO, acquiring it in 2016 for $32 billion. SoftBank had planned to sell Arm to Nvidia for $40 billion, but regulatory obstacles caused the deal to collapse and SoftBank to pivot to an IPO strategy.
After the IPO, which was one of the most anticipated of 2023, SoftBank still owned 90.6% of the public company, worth well in excess of $100 billion as of March 2024. It's fair to call this investment a success.
Yahoo! Japan
SoftBank acquired the Yahoo! Japan business for $1.6 billion from Verizon (VZ 1.28%) in 2021. It is Japan's second-most popular search engine, behind Alphabet's (GOOGL 0.38%)(GOOG 0.39%) Google.
Image source: Getty Images.
Telecommunications
It's also worth noting that SoftBank Corporation itself (not the venture funds) operates a rather large communications business with mobile and landline services. It owns several telecommunications brands, including the third-largest wireless carrier in Japan, and spun out from SoftBank Group (the investment arm).
Other publicly traded investments
SoftBank owns minority stakes in many other businesses, some public and some private. Here's a quick rundown of other publicly traded investments listed on SoftBank's most recent regulatory filings.
- Symbiotic (NYSE:SYM) -- 47.6% ownership
- Inter & Co. (INTR 0.28%) -- 22.7%
- Nu Holdings (NASDAQ:NU) -- 0.5%
- Vtex (NASDAQ:VTEX) -- 10.6%
- Neumora Therapeutics (NMRA -0.75%) -- 5.0%
- IonQ (NASDAQ:IONQ) -- 1.5%
There are others besides what you see on this list, including several extremely small positions. SoftBank files a 13F with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) every quarter, where the full details of its holdings can be viewed.
Previous investments
Previous SoftBank investments
SoftBank has made plenty of notable investments throughout its history, and it's important for investors to realize that it doesn't still own them all. SoftBank was an early investor in a few prominent companies. Here are some of the most well-known examples.
Uber
SoftBank led a $9 billion investment into Uber (UBER -1.32%) in early 2018, making it the largest shareholder in the rideshare giant. The bank sold $2 billion of Uber shares in early 2021 and reported selling the remainder of its stake in mid-2022.
Opendoor
SoftBank was a pre-IPO investor in real estate technology platform Opendoor (OPEN 4.85%), investing $400 million in September 2018. The bank exited the investment in mid-2022.
DoorDash
The SoftBank Vision Fund invested $535 million in DoorDash (DASH -0.36%). However, it has mostly exited the investment, reporting a 0.01% ownership stake worth about $2.3 million in its latest regulatory filing.
Cruise Automation
Cruise Automation is an autonomous vehicle technology company that is majority-owned by General Motors (GM 1.23%). Other vehicle manufacturers, including Honda (HMC 0.41%), are also invested in Cruise. SoftBank formerly owned an almost 20% stake, but GM bought out SoftBank's stake in 2022 to increase its ownership.
Future companies
What companies could SoftBank buy in the future?
SoftBank's investment activity has slowed considerably in recent years. SoftBank has pumped the brakes on investing thanks to a combination of profitability concerns, a lack of suitable investment candidates, and a string of losing investments.
However, we're seeing a resurgence in IPO and venture investing in 2024. So, it's entirely possible we'll see SoftBank start making serious investments again.
Venture Capital
Venture capital (VC) is a form of financing through private equity. VC investors fund start-ups and small businesses, betting the target company will develop into a successful business.
AI is a particular area of interest for SoftBank's founder, Masayoshi Son. There have been reports that SoftBank is considering investments in AI start-ups. Son reportedly aims to raise $100 billion to build a new business that would collaborate with Arm and compete with Nvidia to produce AI chips. Plus, Son has reportedly met with OpenAI's leadership about potentially investing in a separate AI chip venture.
There's no way to know for sure what SoftBank and its leadership are planning to invest in next or whether any of the investment opportunities they are exploring will actually result in an investment taking place. But there's a good chance it will be something AI-related.
Related investing topics
The bottom line on Companies SoftBank owns
SoftBank has been one of the most prominent investment managers of the past couple of decades, and for good reason. They've had massive home runs like Alibaba, as well as several notable investments that didn't do well or even resulted in total losses.
As you can see, SoftBank still owns stakes in some well-known companies and is still actively searching for its next opportunities.
FAQ
Companies SoftBank owns FAQ
What brands does SoftBank own?
SoftBank generally owns stakes, not the entire business, in public and private companies. One notable exception was Arm Holdings, which SoftBank acquired in its entirety several years before it went public. Despite becoming publicly traded, SoftBank still owns more than 90% of Arm.
Examples of some of the most well-known companies in which SoftBank owns a stake include Alibaba, T-Mobile, Nvidia, Lemonade, and Compass. But dozens of SoftBank portfolio companies exist, including several smaller, publicly traded companies.
Who is the main investor in SoftBank?
SoftBank’s flagship Vision Fund has several notable investors, but Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is the largest. Other major investors are tech giants like Apple and Qualcomm, but there are plenty of other investors. SoftBank co-founder Masayoshi Son also is a major investor in SoftBank’s venture activities.
Who are the main shareholders of SoftBank?
SoftBank is a publicly traded company (one of the largest in Japan). Co-founder Masayoshi Son owns 34% of SoftBank, and some of the other major shareholders include The Master Trust Bank of Japan, Custody Bank of Japan, and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM).
Keep in mind that Softbank is a publicly traded company. Although it isn’t directly listed on a major U.S. stock exchange, you can buy shares in over-the-counter (OTC) markets.
What is SoftBank's main business?
SoftBank has a rather large telecommunications business, but it is best known for its activities as an investment manager. It invests in many public and private businesses worldwide, most of which have a technology focus. It is perhaps best known for the SoftBank Vision Fund, one of the world's largest venture capital funds.
Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Matt Frankel has positions in General Motors. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Apple, DoorDash, Nvidia, Opendoor Technologies, Qualcomm, and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool recommends General Motors, T-Mobile US, and Verizon Communications and recommends the following options: long January 2025 $25 calls on General Motors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
