SoftBank's Vision Fund turns profitable in Q1FY24 after six quarters

Vision Fund—SoftBank's investment arm—recorded a quarterly profit of $1.1 billion (on a standalone basis) for the first time in six quarters, driven by an increase in valuations of its public portfolio companies. Vision Fund has backed Paytm, PolicyBazaar, and Delhivery, among other Indian startups.

However, Japan's SoftBank Group posted a net loss of $3.3 billion in the first quarter of FY24 for the third straight quarter, as tech startups struggle through yet another difficult year.

SoftBank said it will continue monitoring the performance of both funding vehicles of Vision Fund and will encourage synergy among all the countries, company executives said.

The Japanese entity will continue to accelerate its investments with a focus on artificial intelligence, said Yoshimitsu Goto, CFO and CISO at SoftBank Group Corp, during the earnings briefing on Tuesday.

SoftBank's chipmaking unit, Arm, earned a revenue of $641 million in the first quarter amid a slightly down period for the semiconductor industry globally. The chipmaking company is looking to go public in September, seeking a valuation of over $60 billion.

Last year, Rajeev Misra—SoftBank Founder Masayoshi Son’s chief lieutenant—relinquished a key role at the Japanese conglomerate just months after he took on additional responsibilities as he prepared to launch a new fund.

(This is a developing story. The copy will be updated with more inputs.)