As reported by Bloomberg, the investment department of the Vision Fund of the Japanese multinational SoftBank Group is preparing to lay off 30% of its global employees, a total of around 150 employees.

Masayoshi Son, CEO of SoftBank Group, publicly stated that the reason is that the valuation of the companies they invested in has fallen dramatically and SoftBank Group has collectively suffered a record quarterly loss.

The group lost about 3.2 trillion yen ($23.4 billion) in the three months to June, with $17.3 billion tied to the Vision Fund, according to Bloomberg.

SoftBank Vision Fund is a venture capital fund founded in 2017 and is part of the SoftBank Group. With more than $100 billion in capital, it is the largest technology-focused portfolio investment fund in the world. In 2019, SoftBank Vision Fund 2 was established. As of March 31, 2021, the combined fair value of the two funds was $154 billion.

The second phase of the Vision Fund has invested in 269 companies and the investment cost is approximately 48.2 billion US dollars. At the end of June, the value was just US$37.2 billion.

Vision Fund has invested in many companies, such as Uber and Didi. From April to June, the Vision Fund lost $23.1 billion.

Japan’s SoftBank invested $200 million in the Mercado Bitcoin crypto exchange in Brazil, which is considered the largest capital raised through a Series B funding round in Latin American history in 2021.

In August, Softbank Ventures also invested in MarqVision, a startup known for its Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered platform.

The startup fights counterfeiting with “advanced technology that effectively eliminates counterfeits and digital piracy, including product images, NFTs, and more.”

To raise cash, SoftBank pulled out of companies like Uber and property-selling platform Opendoor Technologies for $5.6 billion.

Z Holdings, the internet subsidiary of Japanese multinational SoftBank Group, plans to launch a market for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) by the end of this year, according to reports.

The marketplace aims to help the company meet its mid-term revenue goals by capitalizing on the growing craze surrounding digital collectibles. A market for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is planned to launch later this year.

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