Latest news with #VisionFund
Business Insider
19 hours ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Inside SoftBank's $1 Trillion AI Gamble: What It Means for SFTBY Investors
SoftBank Group (SFTBY) is exploring a $1 trillion plan to build a massive AI and robotics manufacturing hub in Arizona. The project, known as 'Project Crystal Land,' is still in its early planning stages but aims to produce semiconductors and industrial robots at scale. The goal is to expand U.S. manufacturing capacity in advanced technologies and reduce reliance on imports. Confident Investing Starts Here: TSMC Is a Potential Partner The initiative is being led by CEO Masayoshi Son and modeled after Shenzhen's high-tech zones in China. According to reports, SoftBank is in talks with the Trump administration, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, about possible tax incentives and regulatory support. The company is also reaching out to tech giants like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) and Samsung Electronics (SMSN) to participate. So far, TSM has not confirmed any commitment beyond its existing $165 billion investment in U.S. chip production. SoftBank may also involve some of its Vision Fund portfolio companies by setting up production facilities inside the new complex. The project's success will depend on a combination of government backing, industry partnerships, and financing. SoftBank has already taken similar steps with the $500 billion Stargate AI infrastructure initiative, which includes partners like Oracle (ORCL), OpenAI, and MGX. For now, Project Crystal Land is more concept than construction site. But it reflects SoftBank's continued push to expand its presence in U.S. tech and AI infrastructure. What Is SFTBY Stock's Smart Score? SoftBank currently holds a Smart Score of 3, landing it in the 'Underperform' zone. While analysts rate the stock a 'Hold' with an average price target of $32.20, market sentiment is mixed. Fundamentals indicate a 10.28% return on equity, but a 2.50% decline in asset growth over the past year.
Mint
09-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
Financier Lex Greensill Decries ‘Code of Silence' Around SoftBank Deals
(Bloomberg) -- Financier Lex Greensill said there was a 'code of silence' around a series of transactions with SoftBank Group Corp. to keep potential losses hidden, in his first public court appearance since the high profile collapse of his firm. Greensill is giving evidence at a $440 million London trial brought by Credit Suisse against SoftBank over a restructuring agreement involving his trade finance firm in 2020. He said there was a risk that a financing arrangement for an increasingly troubled SoftBank-backed startup would trigger an 'immediate' claim worth hundreds of millions of dollars. 'There was a code of silence around this transaction,' Greensill said in court on Monday. 'This whole transaction was to enable SoftBank to structure it as a balance sheet transaction so that it wouldn't appear on the' profit and loss account. Greensill said he was ultimately forced to accept the SoftBank restructuring calling it 'painful.' The London lawsuit is focusing on how Greensill restructured its relationship with Katerra Inc., a US-based construction company in which SoftBank was a major investor. Credit Suisse alleges SoftBank concocted the restructuring in 2020 so that it could pull its own money out of the firm, knowing full well that Greensill, already in free-fall, would be unable to repay the $440 million it owed to Credit Suisse. SoftBank argues that the Credit Suisse case has always been an attempt to shift blame 'for its own poor investment decisions.' The allegations are 'entirely without merit,' it said previously. SoftBank's lawyers said that the $440 million was provided by the Vision Fund on the basis that it would be used to repay the Credit Suisse notes. In his evidence, Greensill talked about the rupturing of his relationship with SoftBank and its founder Masayoshi Son, who once mentored him. He said that some executives were 'threatened' by his close relationship with Son and that he would speak directly with the founder, bypassing executives including Rajeev Misra, in an attempt to speed financial support from SoftBank. 'There were certain people in the organization who felt threatened by the nature of the relationship Son-san had with me,' Greensill said, using the Japanese honorific. 'Some people liked to play games and make things difficult.' Credit Suisse previously disclosed emails in the trial from Misra, who was then sitting on the investment committee of SoftBank's Vision Fund, who'd warned in an email that Lex Greensill was often dishonest and 'slippery.' The two clashed over the levels of financial support that SoftBank would offer to Greensill through 2020, before Greensill Capital collapsed the following year. 'Mr. Son is SoftBank,' he said, describing him as 'someone who can look over the horizon in a way most ordinary mortals can't.' Greensill will be questioned by lawyers for both Credit Suisse and SoftBank over the next two days. In a filing, SoftBank's attorneys said that the financier had at times displayed 'hostility' to the Japanese group. 'He is in no sense the witness of the SoftBank group,' they said. UBS Group AG is pursuing the London claim on behalf of its former Swiss rival in a bid to recover funds for investors trapped in the supply chain finance vehicles. The fallout from Greensill spawned multiple legal fights around the world. Lex Greensill himself is fighting moves by the UK government to have him disqualified as a director, while his firm's own administrators filed a civil case against him in April. More stories like this are available on
AU Financial Review
06-06-2025
- Business
- AU Financial Review
Lex Greensill ‘slippery and prone to lying', court told
London | The former head of SoftBank's Vision Fund described financier Lex Greensill as 'slippery and prone to lying', according to correspondence disclosed in a complex $US440 million London court battle between the Japanese conglomerate and a fund of the defunct bank Credit Suisse. Rajeev Misra made the comment in an email to a colleague at SoftBank, whose funds were a big investor in Lex Greensill's eponymous lending company before its collapse in 2021 triggered a sprawling political and financial scandal.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Vision Fund Citizen Committee has nominated 14 future projects
Rapid City, S.D. (KELO) — 14 out of 29 projects have been nominated by Rapid City's Vision Fund Citizen Committee. They have a budget of $12 million and will now await the City Council's decision. 45 citations issued for long vehicles parked downtown The Civic Center, now named The Monument, the BMX Park upgrades, and the South and West Community Gym Centers are just a few of the over 100 projects that have been funded through the Vision Fund. The current Citizens Committee was tasked with allocating just over $12 million, with the 29 applicants requesting more than $74 Million in Vision Fund allocations. 'All of these projects, and I can't stress this enough, all of these projects are sensational. They all would have a significant impact on our community and I wish we could fund them all. I wish the mayor would give me $74 million. We did the absolute best I think we could do,' Citizens Committee Chairman John Kaiser said. This committee was formed around mid-spring and were able to tour and discuss these projects thoroughly. 'Great Vision Fund Committee as well as city staff that provided support and really all of the city staff support altogether. You see a lot of parks projects, a lot of sports projects meeting a lot of needs throughout the city. I think it hits the heart and attention of what we wanted for this and so I'm very pleased,' Rapid City Mayor Jason Salamun said. Sports projects were highly requested with over 30% being in that category. 'I think that when you look at sports as a whole, whether it's like the skateboarding, which is something completely unique, or baseball or soccer or whatever, it was just for us as a committee, those were the ones we felt were also in the scope of what citizens should recommend,' Kaiser said. One project request that was not recommended was a new indoor sports complex. That project requested $10 million, as new facilities for athletes are needed in town. This nomination list will now rest in the hands of the Rapid City Council after the Vision Fund Citizens Committee's presentation on Monday night. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Time of India
17-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
ByteDance aims to match Meta sales in 2025 as TikTok gains steam
ByteDance is targeting revenue growth of about 20% in 2025 despite a potential global economic downturn , a pace of expansion that could help it match Meta Platforms 's global business. TikTok 's owner expects sales to increase to roughly $186 billion from $155 billion in 2024, people familiar with its finances said. That caps years of 20%-plus growth and would take the Chinese internet leader to just a whisker below Meta's projected revenue of about $187 billion this year. ByteDance now claims more than 4 billion monthly active users for its suite of apps, in the ballpark of Meta's, the people said, asking to remain anonymous discussing private projections. TikTok's dizzying ascent has come under the spotlight since the Biden administration led an effort to ban the Chinese-owned social media phenom from the US, citing national security concerns. Trump in turn is giving ByteDance time to strike a deal to sell TikTok — a months-long process that's already drawn interest from the likes of Inc. to Oracle Corp. Despite the threat of a US shutout, ByteDance's international business has soared as TikTok expands globally. While its envisioned 2025 growth rate is down slightly from last year's 29%, that target may shift as executives get a better sense of the business. A ByteDance spokesperson didn't respond to requests for comment. SoftBank Group 's Vision Fund revalued the company to north of $400 billion last year, in part because of its growing presence in generative AI . Fidelity Investments and T. Rowe Price Group Inc. have also marked up ByteDance, valuing it at above $410 billion and $450 billion, respectively, Bloomberg News has reported. Still, growth overall for the startup slowed sharply from 2023. Its flagship Chinese video platform Douyin is grappling with waning consumption and advertising spending across the world's second-largest economy. TikTok — a near-identical replica of its Chinese cousin — has in the meantime taken up more of the burden for topline growth.
