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Tag: Masayoshi Son

  • SoftBank CEO: Downturn May Last Longer for Startups

    SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son had sobering words for startups, warning the economic downturn may last longer for them.

    Companies large and small are beginning to experience a reversal of fortunes amid the downturn. While larger companies are already feeling the pain, Son is warning it could be worse for startups — largely because of their founders.

    According to TechCrunch, Son says unicorn founders are placing too high a value on their companies, impeding their ability to secure funding.

    “Unicorn companies’ leaders still believe in their valuations and they wouldn’t accept that they may have to see their valuations [go] lower than they think,” he said, according to company’s official translator.

    “So until the multiple of listed companies is lower than those of unlisted companies, we should wait,” said Son, referring to a popular way investors assign value to firms. While saying the winter for public companies continues, he said startups may experience a “longer” downturn.

    Son also acknowledges the temptation to invest when the market is depressed but highlights the risks of doing so.

    “Now seems like the perfect time to invest when the stock market is down so much, and I have the urge to do so, but if I act on it, we could suffer a blow that would be irreversible, and that is unacceptable,” he added.

  • It’s Official: The Nvidia and Arm Deal Is Off, Arm Appoints New CEO

    It’s Official: The Nvidia and Arm Deal Is Off, Arm Appoints New CEO

    Nvidia and Arm have officially abandoned a deal that would have seen Nvidia purchase the semiconductor firm for $40 billion.

    Nvidia announced in September 2020 that it would purchase Arm Holdings for $40 billion. Almost immediately, critics jumped on the announcement, citing a number of concerns. UK lawmakers were concerned about the country’s preeminent semiconductor firm being sold to an American company, especially at a time when the semiconductor industry is increasingly becoming an area of national security focus. Competitors were concerned Nvidia would hoard Arm’s greatest breakthroughs for itself, in contrast to Arm’s long-standing pattern of selling its semiconductor designs to any company willing to pay.

    After intense opposition from the UK, the EU, and even a lawsuit filed by the FCC to block the acquisition, the two companies have officially called it off.

    “Arm has a bright future, and we’ll continue to support them as a proud licensee for decades to come,” said Jensen Huang, founder and chief executive officer of NVIDIA. “Arm is at the center of the important dynamics in computing. Though we won’t be one company, we will partner closely with Arm. The significant investments that Masa has made have positioned Arm to expand the reach of the Arm CPU beyond client computing to supercomputing, cloud, AI and robotics. I expect Arm to be the most important CPU architecture of the next decade.”

    Meanwhile, Arm’s CEO, Simon Segars, has stepped down and been replaced by Rene Haas, a 35-year veteran of the semiconductor industry.

    “Rene is the right leader to accelerate Arm’s growth as the company starts making preparations to re-enter the public markets,” said Masayoshi Son, Representative Director, Corporate Officer, Chairman & CEO of SoftBank Group Corp. “I would like to thank Simon for his leadership, contributions and dedication to Arm over the past 30 years.”

    “It is an honor to lead the world’s most influential technology company at a time when Arm’s market opportunity has never been greater,” said Mr. Haas. “As the innovators of the industry’s most pervasive compute architecture, Arm changed lives around the globe by delivering the technology at the heart of the smartphone revolution. We are now uniquely positioned to address the diverse demands of AI, cloud, IoT, automotive and the Metaverse. And with the uncertainty of the past several months behind us, we are emboldened by a renewed energy to move into a growth strategy and change lives around the world―again.”

  • Deutsche Telekom Renegotiating Sprint Deal

    Deutsche Telekom Renegotiating Sprint Deal

    T-Mobile and Sprint may have been cleared for their merger by U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero, but T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom may be going back to the drawing board in some respects.

    Sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that Deutsche Telekom is looking to renegotiate the price of Sprint, given that its value has fallen from where it was when terms were first agreed upon. The news is not unexpected given Sprint’s current position in the market, as the fourth largest carrier has continued to bleed subscribers.

    In fact, one of the arguments the companies made in their court case was that, without a merger, Sprint would not have the ability to continue forward as a national carrier. Instead, it would likely have to abandon a number of markets and settle for being a regional carrier.

    Given the situation, it’s unlikely Sprint parent SoftBank will put up too much of a fight, although there are no guarantees. SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son ended the previous round of merger negotiations in 2017 because of a dispute over which company should have the controlling interest in a combined T-Mobile. In spite of the fact that Sprint was already losing ground and T-Mobile’s future was looking brighter than ever, Son wanted SoftBank to have the controlling interest in the merged company, not Deutsche Telekom.

    Considering how far Sprint has fallen, however, Son may not have much room to negotiate this time around.

  • Autonomous Driving is Coming No Matter What, Says SoftBank CEO

    Autonomous Driving is Coming No Matter What, Says SoftBank CEO

    “Autonomous driving is coming no matter what,” says Says SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son. “That’s the destiny of where technology is going to drive us.” He adds: “When autonomous driving comes the cost of providing the service will dramatically get more efficient. It will also dramatically reduce the rate of accidents compared to human driving accidents. I think autonomous driving will be definitely coming very very soon.”

    Uber Still Experimenting with Autonomous Vehicles

    Masayoshi Son, CEO of SoftBank, also discusses his support for both current Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi and former Uber CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick in an interview on CNBC:

    I Definitely Believe Uber is Going to Grow Exponentially

    I would like SoftBank to remain invested in Uber as long as possible. Of course, it all depends on the share price (after their IPO). Sometimes the share price goes up too high too quickly and then we have to harvest a little bit. It all depends on the market conditions. But do I believe the company is going to grow exponentially?  I definitely believe so.

    I’m very respectful (of our) dialogue with the new management (led by Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi). He’s very very smart and very well balanced. He can be very offensive (strategically) in increasing the business and he can also be very cost-efficient (and good with) employee morale and so on.

    Travis Kalanick is a Pioneer

    I respect that but at the same time, I also have to mention that I respect (Uber co-founder and former CEO) Travis (Kalanick) tremendously. He’s one of the best entrepreneurs. He is a pioneer. When you pioneer a new frontier you have to have the energy, the passion, and out-of-the-box thinking. His aggressive is one of the best. Potentially, I would love to support him in his new ventures. It all depends on the price. But I have tremendous respect for him.

    Autonomous Driving is Coming No Matter What, Says SoftBank CEO