Is it too late to enter?

In fact, SoftBank has been very optimistic about investment in the field of robotics, as early as 2020 invested in California-based Bear robotics. Through the second phase of the Vision Fund, SoftBank has also invested in Shanghai-based service robot developer Keenon Robotics, among others. For the battlefield of AI, whether it is SoftBank China or the Vision Fund, it has not stopped investing in China.

However, SoftBank has also suffered many setbacks on the robot circuit. Previously, Zume, a robot pizza delivery startup that raised nearly $500 million, announced its bankruptcy, which added a new amount to SoftBank’s failed investment case. Zume Pizza was founded in 2015, with CEO Alex Garden and co-founder Julia Collins hoping to turn the company into “the Tesla and Amazon of fresh food.” In total, Zume has raised nearly $500 million, and SoftBank invested about $375 million in the tech startup in 2018.

UFC911B110 3BHE037864R0110

UFC911B110 3BHE037864R0110

Over the past six months, Sun Zhengyi has faced the wreckage left by his investment in previous years, while witnessing the global artificial intelligence track exploding. According to the latest data from market research firm pitchbook, SoftBank has invested in only one of the 26 generative AI unicorns – startups valued at more than $1 billion – in the world.

Therefore, on the one hand is a failure case, on the other hand SoftBank also wants to share a piece of the artificial intelligence wave this year. It is reported that SoftBank Group plans to independently develop its own generative AI, hoping to push the broader industry into this field with its own model. In SoftBank’s view, in the era of artificial intelligence, Arm’s semiconductor industry is an important engine. At present, SoftBank Group is pushing Arm to go public. It is reported that Arm is currently in talks with potential strategic investors, including Intel Corp., which is considering becoming an anchor investor in Arm’s listing. Once completed, Arm is expected to be the world’s largest IPO this year.

However, there are also people in the industry worried that there is a lot of hype and bubbles in the AI industry, and SoftBank is now so “high-profile” to join the AI war, is it too late?