The Japanese conglomerate’s Vision Fund unit posted its first profitable quarter in a year and a half, encouraging it to seek out new investment opportunities, especially in artificial intelligence, said chief financial officer Yoshimitsu Goto. (The Wall Street Journal)
Talking point: The firm said its Vision Fund 2 still has roughly US$8 billion to invest. SoftBank recently led a US$65-million round in Tractable, an AI-powered appraiser of property and car damage. Overall, SoftBank reported a roughly US$3.3-billion net loss, missing analyst expectations of a profit. The company had slowed new investments amid the tech downturn. AI deals have been leading the charge on a broader venture capital rebound after a slow 2022.