{"id":14076,"date":"2025-09-19T22:48:56","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T22:48:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/19\/softbank-vision-fund-to-lay-off-20-of-employees-as-founder-masayoshi-son-makes-big-ai-bets-business-news\/"},"modified":"2025-09-19T22:48:56","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T22:48:56","slug":"softbank-vision-fund-to-lay-off-20-of-employees-as-founder-masayoshi-son-makes-big-ai-bets-business-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/19\/softbank-vision-fund-to-lay-off-20-of-employees-as-founder-masayoshi-son-makes-big-ai-bets-business-news\/","title":{"rendered":"SoftBank Vision Fund To Lay Off 20% Of Employees As Founder Masayoshi Son Makes Big AI Bets | Business News"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

Last Updated:<\/span>

The layoffs come after years of downsizing, as Vision Fund has gradually lost prominence amid Son\u2019s growing appetite for AI bets<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\"font\"<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\"Softbank<\/p>\n

Softbank Layoffs<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

SoftBank Group Corp\u2019s Vision Fund is set to cut 20% of its workforce as founder Masayoshi Son shifts focus toward artificial intelligence, multiple reports said on Friday.<\/p>\n

Bloomberg, citing sources, reported that the Vision Fund unit is expected to lay off more than 50 employees as part of the exercise. As of March-end, the fund employed about 282 people. A spokesperson for the Vision Fund confirmed that job cuts are planned but declined to share further details.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe continually adjust the organization to best execute our long-term strategy\u2014making bold, high-conviction investments in AI and breakthrough technologies,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.<\/p>\n

Years of Cutbacks<\/h3>\n

The latest round of layoffs comes after years of downsizing, as the Vision Fund has gradually lost prominence amid Son\u2019s growing appetite for AI bets. At its peak in FY2020, the $100 billion-plus fund employed 474 people, according to SoftBank\u2019s annual securities report. Since then, the workforce has shrunk by nearly 40%.<\/p>\n

SoftBank\u2019s Vision Fund has also been paring down key assets in recent years to free up capital for new AI investments. With the company now concentrating on a smaller set of large-scale deals, the unit no longer requires the same number of investment advisers to manage fresh or existing bets.<\/p>\n

SoftBank\u2019s AI Push<\/h3>\n

Son is doubling down on AI with plans to invest around $30 billion in OpenAI. So far, SoftBank has already committed about $10 billion. In addition, the company is pursuing a $6.5 billion acquisition of chip designer Ampere Computing, though the deal faces regulatory scrutiny.<\/p>\n

SoftBank has also partnered with OpenAI and Oracle Corp. on the $500 billion Stargate<\/em> initiative to build AI data centers and infrastructure across the US. Separately, Son is working on a proposed $1 trillion AI industrial park and has approached Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. for potential collaboration.<\/p>\n

Reuters was the first to report on the job cuts, though News18 could not independently verify the developments.<\/p>\n

A Strategic Reset<\/h3>\n

The restructuring signals a return to Son\u2019s trademark high-risk, high-reward style\u2014making bold, concentrated bets rather than spreading capital across a wide venture portfolio. This marks a shift from the previous era of the Vision Fund, when SoftBank was forced to de-risk, sell assets, and restore credibility after incurring heavy losses on investments such as WeWork.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\"Aparna<\/figure>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Aparna Deb<\/a><\/p>\n

Aparna Deb is a Subeditor and writes for the business vertical of News18.com. She has a nose for news that matters. She is inquisitive and curious about things. Among other things, financial markets, economy, a…Read More<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Aparna Deb is a Subeditor and writes for the business vertical of News18.com. She has a nose for news that matters. She is inquisitive and curious about things. Among other things, financial markets, economy, a… Read More<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Click here<\/a> to add News18 as your preferred news source on Google. Stay updated with all the latest business news, including market trends<\/a>,\u00a0stock updates<\/a>,\u00a0tax<\/a>, IPO,\u00a0banking finance<\/a>, real estate, savings and investments. To Get in-depth analysis, expert opinions, and real-time updates. Also Download the\u00a0News18 App<\/a> to stay updated.<\/span><\/div>\n
First Published:<\/span><\/p>\n
\n

September 19, 2025, 09:24 IST<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

News<\/a> business<\/a> SoftBank Vision Fund To Lay Off 20% Of Employees As Founder Masayoshi Son Makes Big AI Bets<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\n
Disclaimer: Comments reflect users\u2019 views, not News18\u2019s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use<\/a> and Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n


\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last Updated:September 19, 2025, 09:41 IST The layoffs come after years of downsizing, as Vision Fund has gradually lost prominence amid Son\u2019s growing appetite for AI bets Softbank Layoffs SoftBank Group Corp\u2019s Vision Fund is set to cut 20% of its workforce as founder Masayoshi Son shifts focus toward artificial intelligence, multiple reports said on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13665,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14076\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}