Uber
SoftBank led a $9 billion investment into Uber (UBER +0.54%) in early 2018, making it the largest shareholder in the rideshare giant. The bank sold $2 billion of Uber shares in early 2021 and reported selling the remainder of its stake in mid-2022.
Alibaba
Alibaba is SoftBank's most successful investment in its history, with the fund acquiring a stake in the business in 2000 for $20 million. When Alibaba went public in late 2014, SoftBank's investment had grown to about $60 billion. However, in mid-2024, SoftBank announced that it had sold substantially all of its Alibaba stake.
Opendoor
SoftBank was a pre-IPO investor in real estate technology platform Opendoor (OPEN -2.13%), investing $400 million in September 2018. The bank exited the investment in mid-2022.
DoorDash
The SoftBank Vision Fund invested $535 million in DoorDash (DASH +3.60%). However, it has mostly exited the investment, reporting a 0.01% ownership stake worth about $3.3 million in its latest regulatory filing.
Cruise Automation
Cruise Automation is an autonomous vehicle technology company that is majority-owned by General Motors (GM -3.72%). Other vehicle manufacturers, including Honda (HMC +2.03%), are also invested in Cruise. SoftBank formerly owned an almost 20% stake, but GM bought out SoftBank's stake in 2022 to increase its ownership.
What companies could SoftBank buy in the future?
SoftBank's investment activity has slowed considerably in recent years. SoftBank has pumped the brakes on investing thanks to a combination of profitability concerns, a lack of suitable investment candidates, and a string of losing investments.
However, we're seeing a resurgence in IPO and venture investing. So, it's entirely possible we'll see SoftBank start making serious investments again.