Japanese investment firm SoftBank is all set to cut its spending on startups as it reported a huge net loss of $13.14 billion for the year ending March 31. SoftBank also reported its biggest-ever quarterly net loss of $16.2 billion for the January-March quarter. The firm said it would be forced to reduce startup funding by more than half this year.
SoftBank’s $100 billion Vision Fund, launched in 2017, also suffered a historic loss of $27 billion for the year. It is due to heavy losses in investments in tech companies like Coupang and Didi Global.
According to SoftBank, fast-rising inflation, increasingly complex geopolitical risk and the global energy shock have challenged the investment environment.
In the last fiscal year, SoftBank invested more than $46 billion in startups. However, this will be half or as small as a quarter in the coming year, said SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son.
