SoftBank’s new venture fund, the SMA, is a new way for SoftBank to invest in emerging technologies and companies, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be a tough sell for the rest of the world.
The SMA’s aim is to take on more than just technology and focus on its core business of investing in startups and early-stage businesses.
That includes investments in startups, which will focus on technology-related businesses.
And as the firm continues to expand into new areas, it’s looking at new investments to take the business beyond the tech space.
SoftBank has a number of tech-focused startups under its wing, including Baidu, a social-media platform, and Baiduan, a smartphone maker.
But the company is also looking at a new fund that will focus more on early-phase businesses, and that could have a broader impact.
SoftBank is looking to put $1.5 billion into the fund, which it says will “invest in early- stage businesses and startups with a focus on innovation and growth.”
SoftBank says the fund will be focused on the following businesses:The SoftBank-backed SMA is also investing in other companies in the space.
It recently acquired Baiduo, a company that specializes in selling data analytics software to enterprises, and is also buying Baidun, an open-source data-sorting service, for $500 million.
Softbank is also acquiring a group of other startups for $5 billion.
For the most part, SoftBank has taken a cautious approach to the new fund.
SoftCasts a target on $5,000 in annual revenue, which would be roughly the amount of revenue it would expect from SoftBank alone if it had a $5 trillion balance sheet.
And SoftBank hasn’t announced a specific target for the fund’s total assets, though its chief financial officer said in January that the firm expects it to grow to about $30 billion.
The fund will also have the backing of several major tech players, including Alibaba, which SoftBank acquired for $2.2 billion in 2014.
SoftCasts A New FocusOn SoftBankThe fund is also going to invest more in other emerging companies, such as blockchain technology, artificial intelligence, and artificial intelligence services, SoftCasters Chief Financial Officer and chief technology officer, Hiroshi Nakazawa, said in a statement.
Those include Baidue, which uses blockchain technology to facilitate the exchange of information and transaction records across the internet; Baiduy, a startup that develops smart contracts for real-world business; and Bicom, which creates AI-based apps for retailers and restaurants.
While SoftBank appears to be targeting technology, the fund is targeting a wide range of companies.
Nakazaw said the fund won’t target a single technology, but instead will “take a broad view on the entire industry and take the opportunities that are emerging across it.”
He said the SoftCaster team will be looking at “the opportunities that will be available, not just to companies in technology, and the opportunity that will become available in the future.”
The SoftCast team will also be looking for “new, unique opportunities,” such as those in areas like data analytics and artificial intelligent, he said.
SoftBoosting the FutureOf course, it won’t be easy for the SoftCity investors to find the money to invest into the Softbank Vision Fund.
SoftCity has a $1 billion valuation, but the SoftBets own stock has plunged since it went public.
In the past two months, SoftCity’s market cap has fallen from $1,200 billion to just $2 billion.
SoftBoosting may not be a great way to raise money for a startup, and it’s hard to see how the fund could compete with a fund like the SoftFunds or SoftBank.
But SoftBoosts success shows that investors can still get a great return on investment.
The SoftCity funds are not the only way investors are taking an interest in the SoftCash space.
SoftBillionaire George Soros recently launched a fund called the New Venture Fund, which aims to raise $20 billion through venture investments.
SoftCash has already raised more than $6 billion, and investors are hoping to tap the potential of the new venture capital market to make money.