Saudi Arabia, SoftBank, Apple, Qualcomm, and Larry Ellison are creating a massive investment fund, and SoftBank's CEO Masayoshi Son is sounding increasingly Kurzweilian:
[SoftBank Group Corp.'s Masayoshi] Son reiterated his belief that computers will exceed humans in intelligence in three decades, and that within this period he expects one computer chip to have the equivalent of a 10,000 IQ. "I really believe this," he said at a keynote speech at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday. The growth in computer ability was "why I acquired ARM," he said.
[...] SoftBank is aiming to close the first round of investment in its technology Vision Fund by the end of this month, people familiar with the matter have said. The initial investments will likely include $45 billion from Saudi Arabia and $25 billion from SoftBank, as well as $1 billion each from Apple Inc., Qualcomm Inc. and Oracle Corp. Chairman Larry Ellison, they said. The initial round is likely to exceed $80 billion and the timing of the closing may still change, said one of the people.
"We believe the singularity is inevitable and all businesses will be redefined as computers overtake humans in intelligence," Son said at an earnings briefing in November.
SoftBank recently bought U.S. private equity firm Fortress, which oversees around $70 billion of assets. It paid $3.3 billion, $1 billion more than the firm's market value. Fortress will help manage the SoftBank Vision Fund.
NBF articles one and two. Also at TechCrunch.
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SoftBank will reportedly sell a 25% stake in ARM ($8 billion) to the ~$100 billion investment fund it has jointly created with Saudi Arabia, Apple, and others. ARM Holdings was bought by SoftBank for around $32 billion last year.
SoftBank Chairman Masayoshi Son met with Saudi King Salman during the King's state visit to Japan. Son gave the King one of his company's humanoid robots. Saudi Arabia is seeking investors as it prepares to launch an initial public offering for Saudi Aramco. Toyota agreed to conduct a feasibility study into the idea of production in Saudi Arabia, the result of one of twenty memorandums of understanding signed by Japanese companies and institutions with Saudi Arabia.
Also at The Telegraph, and Arab News (extra).
Related: Softbank to Invest $50 Billion in the US
Saudi Arabia is planning to build a new $500+ billion city on the coast of the Red Sea. The zone will be connected to Jordan by land and Egypt by a bridge across the Red Sea. SoftBank's Vision Fund will buy a stake in the state-owned Saudi Electricity Co., which will power the city using clean energy. The project is called NEOM:
Saudi Arabia has unveiled plans to build a new city and business zone - a project that will be backed up by more than $500bn (£381bn) in investment.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman says the 26,500 sq km (10,232 sq mile) NEOM zone will be developed in the north-west, extending to Egypt and Jordan.
It will focus on nine sectors including food technology and, energy and water.
The crown prince has been leading a drive to move Saudi Arabia away from its dependence on oil revenues.
In August, the Gulf kingdom launched a massive tourism development project to turn 50 islands and other sites on the Red Sea into luxury resorts.
However, the extremely ambitious nature of Mohammed bin Salman's vision is sure to raise questions about how realistic it is, the BBC's economics correspondent Andrew Walker says.
What is "NEOM"? "Neo" (Latin for "new") + "Mostaqbal" (Arabic for "future").
Also at Bloomberg (alternate editorial) and Reuters.
Related: SoftBank's $80-100 Billion "Vision Fund" Takes Shape
SoftBank May Sell 25% of ARM to Vision Fund; Chairman Meets With Saudi King
Uber board strikes agreement to pave way for SoftBank investment
Uber Technologies Inc's warring board members have struck a peace deal that allows a multibillion-dollar investment by SoftBank Group Corp to proceed, and which would resolve a legal battle between former Chief Executive Travis Kalanick and a prominent shareholder.
Venture capital firm Benchmark, an early investor with a board seat in the ride-services company, and Kalanick have reached an agreement over terms of the SoftBank investment, which could be worth up to $10 billion, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The Uber board first agreed more than a month ago to bring in SoftBank as an investor and board member, but negotiations have been slowed by ongoing fighting between Benchmark and Kalanick. The agreement struck on Sunday removed the final obstacle to allowing SoftBank to proceed with an offer to buy to[sic] stock.
Also at TechCrunch.
Related: Softbank to Invest $50 Billion in the US
SoftBank's $80-100 Billion "Vision Fund" Takes Shape
SoftBank May Sell 25% of ARM to Vision Fund; Chairman Meets With Saudi King
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Travis Kalanick Appoints Two New Uber Board Members in "Power Play"
Saudi Arabia Planning $500 Billion Megacity and Business Zone
Uber has exited the Southeast Asian ride-hailing market with a sale to Singapore-based Grab, which also operates in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia:
Uber is selling its South East Asia ride-share and food delivery businesses to regional rival Grab. The move marks a further retreat from international operations for Uber, after it sold its China business to local rival Didi Chuxing. Both firms describe the deal as a win for their passengers, but analysts warn it could mean higher prices.
Grab is South East Asia's most popular ride-sharing firm with millions of users across eight countries. Under the terms of the deal, Uber will take a 27.5% stake in Singapore-based Grab. Uber's chief executive, Dara Khosrowshahi, will also join Grab's board.
SoftBank is the biggest investor in both companies, and could also engineer an Uber exit from India, where it competes with Ola:
[...] real victory unquestionably belongs to Masayoshi Son's SoftBank Group Corp., the single-biggest investor in both companies. As I wrote earlier this month, by engineering a retreat for the U.S. company before any more bloodletting for market share, Son ensures that six-year-old Grab will emerge as an early champion in a winner-takes-all business.
A faster path to profit for Uber could also boost its valuation ahead of a planned IPO next year. But at what cost? Having already surrendered China to Didi Chuxing, beating a retreat from Southeast Asia is a precursor to perhaps losing India, the lone remaining jewel in Uber's once-flourishing Asian empire.
In India, once again, SoftBank is the largest investor in Uber's main rival, Ola. Competition between the two apps has become ridiculous. For all the PR gobbledygook on how happy Uber and Ola drivers are, the reality is that many who took out bank loans to acquire new cars are hurting badly. There's a glut of ride-hailing cars; wages have collapsed. Banks are collecting on "DUD," -- my moniker for "distressed Uber debt" -- by repossessing vehicles.
Uber's new CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, says there will be no more exits from global markets (in addition to China, Uber also left Russia). But SoftBank may continue to pursue a strategy of exiting emerging and less profitable markets in exchange for large stakes in competitors.
Related: SoftBank's $80-100 Billion "Vision Fund" Takes Shape
SoftBank to Invest Billions in Uber
SoftBank Devalues Uber by 30% With Latest Offer
SoftBank Acquires 20% of Uber While Massively Devaluing It
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 03 2017, @12:35AM (1 child)
I smell a patent pool.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 03 2017, @06:13AM
I smell a patent poo.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 03 2017, @12:38AM
How many hare-brained, boozy notions have you day-dreamed about putting into practice if only you had the resources at your disposal? After a few moments screwing around with Siri: "Computers are going to be our masters! Tell my financial man to buy the core company of mobile computing; we're getting in at the ground floor!"
(Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Friday March 03 2017, @01:04AM (2 children)
"We believe the singularity is inevitable and all businesses will be redefined as computers overtake humans in intelligence," Son said at an earnings briefing in November.
And people trust this guy with their money? I'm in the wrong business. Sigh.
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday March 03 2017, @01:16AM
It's not a business, it's "who knows you". (no, a pseudonymous account on SN doesn't matter).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 03 2017, @02:32AM
Yeah, I don't think he knows the meaning of inevitable. Maybe he should watch some Terminator. The future has not been written.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 03 2017, @05:03PM
AKA "A fool and his money are soon parted". When will people ever learn?