SoftBank Group Corp (9984. T) is planning to cut headcount at its flagship Vision Fund investing arm; CEO Masayoshi Son said, after a crash in its portfolio pushed his conglomerate to a record quarterly net loss.
Vision Fund, which upended the world of venture capital with splashy bets on startups such as ridehailers Uber and Didi; posted a $23.1 billion loss in the April-June quarter as value evaporated from its investments in the market rout.
“The world is in great confusion,” Son said at an earnings news conference.
The result caps a tumultous six months for the Vision Fund, which posted a record $26.2 billion quarterly loss in May after SoftBank was caught out by rising interest rates and political instability that hammered markets globally.
Son has already radically scaled back investment activity. The Vision Fund arm approved just $600 million in new investments in the first quarter, compared with $20.6 billion in the same period a year earlier.