Masayoshi Son
Masayoshi Son has had a busy year even by the standards of Japan’s most prolific investor. Yesterday in Tokyo, he took time to explain how it all fits together.
In the past six months, SoftBank Group Corp. has invested in businesses ranging from ride sharing, co-working and robotics to agriculture, cancer detection and autonomous driving. The 59-year-old took the stage at SoftBank World, the company’s annual two-day event for customers and suppliers, to outline the strategy behind those deals and the company’s planned USD100 billion technology fund.
In the span of two and a half hours, Son painted a picture of the future where satellite networks cover every inch of the Earth and a trillion devices connected to the internet disgorge data into the cloud where it is analyzed by artificial intelligence. SoftBank and its companies will be there at every step of the way, the billionaire said.
“I’m so excited,” said Son, SoftBank’s founder and chief executive officer, dressed in a dark jacket and striped, open-collar shirt. “It really feels like sleeping is a waste of time.”
SoftBank Vision Fund has already raised more than $93 billion in total commitments from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, Apple Inc. and other large institutional backers, while SoftBank itself is contributing $28 billion. The fund will invest in cutting edge technologies from virtual reality to autonomous driving and the Internet of Things. At the Tokyo gathering, Son let about 10 of the portfolio companies take the stage and speak for themselves.
“The Vision Fund is not about taking on the world with one specific technology, business model or brand,” Son said. “It’s about people sharing the same vision coming together to start a revolution.”
Marc Raibert and Spot Mini
Marc Raibert, CEO of Boston Dynamics was the first to take the stage. SoftBank in June said it is buying the robot maker from Google parent Alphabet Inc. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed and it wasn’t clear whether the companies would remain within SoftBank or become part of the Vision Fund.
At the event, Raibert demonstrated Spot Mini, one of the company’s smaller robots. The quadruped, which uses stereo cameras and laser range finders to locate itself in space, trotted around the stage, clambering over or avoiding obstacles. At one point, he fetched a can of soda with an extendable claw for its inventor.
“Our goal is really to build robots that are equal to or greater than people in terms of their mobility, manipulation dexterity, perception and intelligence,” Raibert said. “That’s a long range target.”
Speakers at the event also included Guardant Health Inc., a startup developing low-cost DNA sequencing technology that would allow for early detection of cancer, and Nauto Inc., whose self-driving technology can help reduce accidents by tracking driver behavior.
In previous years, Son has shared the stage at SoftBank World with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. co-founder Jack Ma and the company’s Pepper robot. The singularity has became a recurring topic. Last year, Son spoke about SoftBank’s acquisition of chipmaker ARM Holdings Plc and its role bringing about advanced artificial intelligence, which he predicted can happen as early as 2018.
“Singularity is definitely coming, perhaps withing the next 30 years,” he said. “Considering humanity’s 200,000-year history, 30 to 50 years is just an error margin.” MDT/Bloomberg
