SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son: India Could Emerge as the Global Hub for AI Chips
Click to start listening
New Delhi, Nov 28 (NationPress) As India continues to make significant progress in the realm of artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors, SoftBank’s Founder and CEO Masayoshi Son has expressed that the nation has the potential to become the global center for AI chip production.
During a meeting with prominent Indian startup founders in the capital, Son, who has backed numerous companies in India, announced plans to increase his investments in the AI sector in the upcoming years.
This marked Son's first visit to India in nearly two years. Reports suggest he also met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, although no official statement regarding this meeting has been released yet.
SoftBank has made investments in various Indian startups, such as Snapdeal, Ola, Oyo, Housing.com, and Grofers (now known as Blinkit, under Zomato).
Previously, Son indicated that SoftBank intends to invest $10 billion in India over the next several years.
As the competition in generative AI intensifies, reports earlier this year indicated that SoftBank's CEO aims to raise around $100 billion for his AI initiative.
Japan's investment giant reported its largest quarterly profit in two years for the September quarter, driven by an increase in IPOs within the Indian market.
SoftBank announced a net income of 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion) for the September quarter, a dramatic recovery from the previous year's net loss of 931 billion yen. The surge in profits was attributed to the rising share prices of Indian companies in which it has invested through its Vision Fund.
'After experiencing significant losses in the Vision Funds, we adopted a more cautious approach. Now, we are witnessing good profits as a result of those lessons,' stated SoftBank's Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto following the earnings report.
The two Vision funds executed full or partial exits amounting to $1.85 billion, including complete exits from 10 portfolio firms, such as the digital payment company Paytm.
