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SoftBank sees huge potential in the software development segment
SoftBank Corporation of Japan pays active attention to software developers. First of all, it is interested in SaaS solutions for corporate clients that offer software licenses through subscription. SoftBank invests in such projects through its own Vision Fund 2, which was created two years ago. During this period, it has invested in 21 companies engaged in software development. The volume of investments in the direction makes up 20% of all Vision Fund 2 projects. SoftBank also supports software creators through a larger Vision Fund, which has invested in eight technology companies.
It should be noted that the main profit of the Japanese corporation refers to Internet companies, which are aimed at consumers. Such examples include China’s Alibaba, Korea’s Coupang and the U.S. DoorDash. However, now SoftBank has realized the potential of software development and decided to almost double the volume of investment in this area. Analysts highly evaluated the prospects of the segment, the demand for the products of which has grown during the pandemic. At the same time the demand for software from corporate clients continues to increase.
In the summer, Vision Fund 2 invested in Go1, a startup from Australia that provides staff training services. The company held a round of financing, thanks to which it raised $200 million. This amount is five times the amount that the startup received last year.
SoftBank analysts note that Go1 has a clear and promising business model for personalizing educational programs, which has high potential for modernizing the educational sphere as a whole.
Go1’s services are aimed at corporate clients; it offers subscriptions to more than 200,000 courses in various industries. Demand for the startup’s products is growing, which is attracting investors, both domestic and foreign. The Australian market estimates that investment in local companies has grown by 30 percent over the past 3 years.
SoftBank is also interested in India, this market is an important area for a large-scale investment strategy. The corporation invested in the One97 Communications payment system and the Oyo hotel reservation service. A promising project is the Indian project Freshworks, which deals with SaaS technologies. It is estimated at 10 billion dollars.
The software development sector is also promising due to the fact that a number of startups carry out IPOs without the support of such large investors as SoftBank. Among them is the American company Snowflake, which recently entered the market and raised $3.4 billion.