SoftBank chief Masayoshi Son may visit India next week, portfolio founders asked to be on standby

SoftBank, led by its Group CEO Masayoshi Son, has invested around $11 billion in Indian startups over the last 6 years

SoftBank chief Masayoshi Son could visit India next week in what would be his first visit to the country since 2018, according to people aware of the matter. Founders of SoftBank portfolio companies, both public and private, have been asked to be on standby for a meeting with Son during the visit to Delhi.

“This will also be one of his first foreign visits after Covid. He will be maintaining Covid protocols and probably be in a bio-bubble. It is expected to be a very short visit,” said a source.

SoftBank declined to comment on the matter.

The Japanese tech conglomerate has invested around $15 billion in Indian companies so far, of which $11 billion have been in the last six years. Its portfolio in the country has 28 companies including the likes of Paytm, PolicyBazaar, Delhivery, Swiggy, Meesho, OYO, FirstCry, OfBusiness and Unacademy, among others.

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Interestingly, Son’s visit to the country would be around the time of the wedding reception of OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal on March 7. The reception, which is being held at a 5-star hotel in Delhi, is expected to host the who’s who of the corporate world and even Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been invited.

“While Masa may not be able to be there at Oyo founder Ritesh Agarwal’s wedding reception on March 7, he might want to take the opportunity and greet him personally later during the visit,” said another source.

ET was the first to report about Son’s visit.

Meanwhile, SoftBank has not made any new investments in India this year as yet amid a tech funding winter. It cut new investments in the country by more than 84 percent in 2022 versus a year earlier as it turned extremely selective in capital deployment amid macroeconomic headwinds.

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SoftBank has backed nearly a fifth of India’s over 100 unicorns, but invested about $500 million into Indian startups last year, down from over $3.2 billion it invested in the whole of 2021, according to data compiled by Moneycontrol. It also participated in only about six deals last year, compared to 17 in 2021.

Its average cheque size has also dropped to $83.3 million in the first 11 months of 2022, compared to over $185 million in the whole of 2021, the data showed. SoftBank has invested more than $11.2 billion in Indian companies since 2017 with its Vision Fund investment units. In 2017 itself, it invested more than $4.1 billion, and that too, across just three deals.