SoftBank Vision Fund reportedly lays off 30% of its workforce, or at least 150 employees
The Vision Fund, a venture capital arm of SoftBank, has launched an extensive layoff process, cutting at least 30% of its global workforce, or about 150 of 500 employees, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The news comes nearly two months after SoftBank CEO and Founder Masayoshi Son said the company will review the size and structure of the organization and plans to cut costs due to a record 3.2 trillion yen (about $23.4 billion). loss in the three months ended June.
It is unclear which regional offices would be affected by the layoffs. The London-based venture capital firm has offices in the United States and Asia. SoftBank declined to comment when contacted by TechCrunch.
Most of SoftBank's record loss (about $17.3 billion) is tied to the Vision Fund, which has backed more than 470 startups globally over the past six years. Son also said during SoftBank's August earnings report that some unicorn founders are unwilling to accept lower valuations in new financings, leading him to believe the winter could be longer for unlisted startups. During the earnings call, the Japanese tech company said it trimmed 284 of its portfolios in the last quarter, including listed companies and still-private startups.
SoftBank recently reduced the valuation of its holding company Oyo to $2.7 billion, for example; the India-based hotel chain startup is months away from its IPO. In another major readjustment, SoftBank-backed Klarna raised $800 million in new funding in July, a valuation of $6.7 billion, down from a valuation of $45.6 billion. that SoftBank assigned to the company a year ago.
Despite the massive losses, the Japanese tech conglomerate is reportedly considering launching a third Vision Fund, according to a recent WSJ article.
The Vision Fund, a venture capital arm of SoftBank, has launched an extensive layoff process, cutting at least 30% of its global workforce, or about 150 of 500 employees, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The news comes nearly two months after SoftBank CEO and Founder Masayoshi Son said the company will review the size and structure of the organization and plans to cut costs due to a record 3.2 trillion yen (about $23.4 billion). loss in the three months ended June.
It is unclear which regional offices would be affected by the layoffs. The London-based venture capital firm has offices in the United States and Asia. SoftBank declined to comment when contacted by TechCrunch.
Most of SoftBank's record loss (about $17.3 billion) is tied to the Vision Fund, which has backed more than 470 startups globally over the past six years. Son also said during SoftBank's August earnings report that some unicorn founders are unwilling to accept lower valuations in new financings, leading him to believe the winter could be longer for unlisted startups. During the earnings call, the Japanese tech company said it trimmed 284 of its portfolios in the last quarter, including listed companies and still-private startups.
SoftBank recently reduced the valuation of its holding company Oyo to $2.7 billion, for example; the India-based hotel chain startup is months away from its IPO. In another major readjustment, SoftBank-backed Klarna raised $800 million in new funding in July, a valuation of $6.7 billion, down from a valuation of $45.6 billion. that SoftBank assigned to the company a year ago.
Despite the massive losses, the Japanese tech conglomerate is reportedly considering launching a third Vision Fund, according to a recent WSJ article.
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