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Zeta raises USD 250 mn from SoftBank at USD 1.45 bn valuation

25May By PriyankaNo Comments

FUNDING

Zeta raises USD 250 mn from SoftBank at USD 1.45 bn valuation

Mumbai, May 25th, 2021: Technology startup in banking sector Zeta raises USD 250 million from Japanese investment major SoftBank at a valuation of USD 1.45 billion, its co-founder and chief executive Bhavin Turakhia announced on Monday. This was the first-ever institutional investment in the 2015 founded company and also a first for Turakhia, a serial entrepreneur who has started four businesses. The investment happened from SoftBank's Vision Fund II. Zeta's main product offering is focused on retail banks, which integrates mobile app, debit processing, credit processing and lending platform without changing the existing core banking systems. Its customers include the largest domestic private sector lender HDFC Bank and a slew of others. The company had raised an undiscl...

South Korea eCommerce platform Coupang revenue surge ahead of IPO

15Feb By reutersNo Comments

Market

South Korea eCommerce platform Coupang revenue surge ahead of IPO

South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang Inc revealed rapid revenue growth and narrowing losses in its filing for a US stock market debut, as the SoftBank Group Corp-backed company looks to cash in on strong demand for high-growth tech stocks. Founded in 2010 by Harvard graduate Bom Kim, Seoul-based Coupang made a splash with its 'Rocket Delivery' service that promised delivery within 24 hours, in a sharp blow to the country's family-owned retail conglomerates such as Shinsegae and Lotte. Coupang on Friday disclosed total revenue jumped 91% to $11.97 billion in 2020 from a year earlier, while net loss narrowed to $474.9 million from $698.8 million. The company, viewed as a local rival to e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc, received $1 billion in funding from SoftBank in 2015 and $2 bill...

SoftBank Posts $12 Billion Profit in First Quarter of 2020

12Aug By PriyankaNo Comments

Market

SoftBank Posts $12 Billion Profit in First Quarter of 2020

Tokyo, Aug 11, 2020: Japanese technology giant SoftBank Group profit rose 12 percent in April-June from a year earlier as its investments added to its coffers, including sales of its shares in US carrier T-Mobile. Tokyo-based SoftBank reported a first-quarter profit of 1.2 trillion yen (USD 11.8 billion), up from 1.1 trillion yen in the previous fiscal year. Quarterly sales inched down 2 per cent to 1.45 trillion yen (USD 13.7 billion). SoftBank, whose group includes the carrier that introduced the iPhone to Japan, said it has been shoring up its cash reserves. Chief Executive Masayoshi Son said, "the company already has raised in several months nearly all the 4.5 trillion yen (USD 41 billion) it had promised in March to attain within a year. But he acknowledged worries about a...

19Jun By PriyankaNo Comments

FUNDING

SoftBank led $19.5 million funding round in Splyt

TOKYO, 19th June 2020: Softbank Corp led a $19.5 million funding round in startup Splyt, which helps app operators integrate mobility options with other services, as it seeks to build its own super app. Japanese tech firms have lagged peers such as Tencent Holdings, with its WeChat app, in creating super apps, which offer access to a range of services via a single interface. SoftBank will take a "significant stake" in Splyt, which has helped integrate ridehailing into apps such as Alibaba Group's Alipay and Grab, backed by SoftBank Group Corp, with the deal focused on using the technology with its own services. SoftBank is poised to control two top contenders for a local super app, the chat app from Line Corp, which will be brought under the SoftBank umbrella in October after stri...

9Jun By AnkitaNo Comments

Market

SoftBank backed Lemonade files for IPO

NEW YORK, 9th June 2020-- Softbank backed digital insurer platform Lemonade has filed a Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) relating to the proposed initial public offering of its common stock. Application has been made for listing the common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “LMND.” The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined. A registration statement on Form S-1 relating to these securities has been filed with the SEC but has not yet become effective. Lemonade has raised around $480 million from SoftBank Group, Sequoia Capital Israel, General Catalyst, and others.

Softbank Puts $9 Billion Losses as Vision Fund Investments Plunge

18May By AnkitaNo Comments

BUSINESS

Softbank Puts $9 Billion Losses as Vision Fund Investments Plunge

Japanese tech company SoftBank Group racked up a loss of 961.6 billion yen (USD 9 billion) for the fiscal year through March, on red ink related to its Vision Fund investments including troubled office space-sharing venture WeWork. SoftBank, founded in 1981, said the drop in share prices around the world from the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic had slammed the value of its sprawling investments. Tokyo-based SoftBank had reported a profit of 1.4 trillion yen the previous fiscal year. Its sales for the fiscal year inched up 1 per cent to 6.2 trillion yen (USD 58 billion). It did not immediately break down quarterly results or give a forecast for the fiscal year through March 2021. On top of WeWork's poor performance, the company suffered damage to the value of Uber and other hol...

OYO cuts 25% of fixed pay of Employees; sends some staff on Leave

22Apr By Press Trust of IndiaNo Comments

News

OYO cuts 25% of fixed pay of Employees; sends some staff on Leave

Softbank backed online hotel room booking platform OYO informed employees that 25 percent of their fixed salaries will be cut and asked some staff to go on a four-month leave with limited benefits from May 4 as the hotel rooms aggregator grapples with "economic pressures" due to COVID-19. The company, which has around 10,000 employees in the country, is a leading player in the hospitality industry that has been ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic. The nationwide lockdown, which has been extended till May 3, to curb spreading of infections has also significantly disrupted economic activities. "We had to take the hard decision of placing some OYOpreneurs on a leave with limited benefits (LwLB) from May 4, 2020, for four months until August 2020," OYO India and South Asia CEO Rohit K...

SoftBank Group Forecasts USD 7bn Net Loss in 2019 Financial Year

14Apr By NitishNo Comments

News

SoftBank Group Forecasts USD 7bn Net Loss in 2019 Financial Year

Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group forecast a USD 7-billion net loss for the year ended March due to the negative impact of coronavirus and losses related to WeWork. The group led by Masayoshi Son said in a press release, "It also expected to suffer an operating loss of 1.35 trillion yen or USD 12.5 billion." The firm cited a 1.8 trillion yen loss at its SoftBank Vision Fund, blaming "the deteriorating market environment" in the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic. As well as killing more than 100,000 people globally, the virus has tipped the world into what many predict will be a Great Depression, and markets have been in free-fall, battering the group's investments. Under Son's leadership SoftBank Group has morphed into an investment and technology firm, and its $100-bi...

SoftBank CEO Son says will supply 300 million masks per month to Japan

13Apr By NitishNo Comments

News

SoftBank CEO Son says will supply 300 million masks per month to Japan

TOKYO (Reuters) - SoftBank Group Corp CEO Masayoshi Son said he has secured a monthly supply of 300 million face masks for Japan after reaching a deal with Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD Co Ltd, which has also started producing masks. From next month, SoftBank will supply two different kinds of mask, initially for medical staff, in cooperation with the Japanese government’s “mask team”, set up to tackle shortages due to the coronavirus outbreak, Son said on Twitter. SoftBank, which last month said it was donating 1.4 million masks to New York state, will supply the masks without taking a profit. Addressing the supply crunch is a priority for the Japanese government, which will begin delivering two washable masks to households next week a move that has been widely criticized on...

WeWork sues SoftBank for backing out of $3 billion Investment deal

7Apr By PriyankaNo Comments

BUSINESS

WeWork sues SoftBank for backing out of $3 billion Investment deal

Coworking organization WeWork sued Japan-based SoftBank after the technology investment group breached its contractual obligations by backing out of a USD 3 billion investment deal. The lawsuit filed in a US court in Delaware came just days after SoftBank said it was backing out of the plan to purchase WeWork shares to shore up the finances of the struggling sharing economy giant. WeWork's board of directors called the SoftBank action "a clear breach of its contractual obligations" under an agreement between the two firms last year as well as a breach of SoftBank's fiduciary obligations to the firm's current and former employees who were to sell their equity. The complaint alleges SoftBank yielded to pressure from "activist investors" and made the move after it had "received most ...

WeWork troubles deepen as SoftBank pulls its $3 billion tender offer

4Apr By reutersNo Comments

BUSINESS

WeWork troubles deepen as SoftBank pulls its $3 billion tender offer

Softbank said it has terminated a $3 billion tender offer for additional WeWork shares agreed last year with shareholders, drawing threats of legal action and plunging the floundering office space company further into crisis. The tech investment giant said in a statement that given its duty to its shareholders it could no longer proceed with the deal, citing criminal and civil probes into the startup, WeWork’s failure to restructure a joint venture in China and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. A special committee of WeWork’s board said it was disappointed and is considering “all of its legal options, including litigation.” SoftBank’s decision to rescind the offer means the Japanese firm is no longer obligated to proceed with a further $1.1 billion in debt financing for WeWo...

Masayoshi Son, Tech Visionary or Robber Baron?

23Dec By Press Trust of IndiaNo Comments

Story

Masayoshi Son, Tech Visionary or Robber Baron?

This is the year that brought a $100 billion venture capitalist to his knees. In January, SoftBank Group Corp.’s Masayoshi Son was riding high, writing billion dollar checks to unicorns from office sharing startup WeWork to autonomous-delivery vehicle designer Nuro. But as 2019 winds down, the Japanese dealmaker is straining to finance a $9.5 billion bailout package for Adam Neumann’s troubled startup, whose valuation has evaporated from $47 billion to $8 billion or even zero, depending whom you ask. SoftBank’s bad year goes well beyond WeWork Investors are starting to get the feeling that whatever Son brings to the public is troubled. And you don’t need to look far for proof, Shares of Uber Technologies Inc. and Slack Technologies Inc., both backed by the Vision Fund, tumbled ...