SoftBank to sell its VC arm to Entity headed by Taizo Son

It has been reported that SoftBank Group Corp. is selling SoftBank Ventures Asia Corp. after suffering billions of dollars of losses from failed startup investments as a result of this unit.

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In a statement, the Japanese tech investor said that it plans to sell its SoftBank Ventures Asia unit - which assisted SoftBank in tracking down promising startups over the last decade - to a Singapore-based entity headed by Mistletoe founder Taizo Son, the younger brother of SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son.

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With about $2 billion in assets under management, the Seoul-based venture capital arm of the firm has invested in a number of companies, including the South Korean car-sharing company Socar Inc., the Indonesian social commerce platform Super, and the Singapore-based online shopping reward app ShopBack.

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In the past, SoftBank Ventures Asia has made initial investments that led to more significant investments from SoftBank's billions-wielding Vision Fund, as was the case with the Singapore-based used car marketplace Carro, in which SoftBank's Vision Fund II led a $360 million investment in 2021. In addition to these examples, there are many others such as the Nigerian fintech app Opay, the South Korean metaverse platform Zepeto, and the Japanese sneaker marketplace Soda Inc.

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The Edgeof, a new venture capital entity recently established by Taizo Son, will acquire SoftBank Ventures Asia for an undisclosed sum by year's end, the company announced in a news release on Wednesday, according to SoftBank. Mistletoe Capital, the entrepreneur's existing venture capital company, is expected to help the entity discover and support startups at all stages of their growth, from the early stages to maturity.

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In the past, the two brothers have partnered on deals, with SoftBank buying the Finnish game maker Supercell Oy in 2013 and GungHo Entertainment, then led by the younger Son, funding the deal with funds from GungHo Entertainment. It is also known that the elder Son has used SoftBank shares as collateral for loans made to Taizo Son's business ventures to support his ventures. 

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With more than $144 billion invested in hundreds of companies since 2017, the Japanese conglomerate reported a net loss of $5.9 billion for the December quarter after its Vision Fund segment had to write down billions of dollars on money-losing startups.