Masayoshi Son seems reluctant to invest in the country amid an unfavorable investment environment and pricey startup valuations. Separately, no end in sight for ShareChat’s troubles.
SoftBank did not make any fresh investments in India in 2023. It is unclear if the fund participated in any follow-on investments in portfolio companies. According to data from Tracxn, the fund has been completely absent from India in this entire year.
Not too long ago, the investment giant founded by Masayoshi Son was totally sold on the India opportunity. So much so that SoftBank cut some of the biggest, absolutely unheard-of cheque sizes in commitment to Indian startups. OYO, Paytm, Ola, FirstCry and Policybazaar were some of the big-ticket investments by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 1. Meesho, Whatfix, InMobi, Juspay, …
Ashish is the editor-in-chief of The Morning Context. One of the best-known business feature writers in India, he was selected for Germany’s Robert Bosch Stiftung Fellowship in 2012 and received the Mumbai Press Club RedInk certificate of recognition in 2015 for his story “Inside the Network 18 takeover”. Before joining The Morning Context, Ashish co-founded The Ken, where he was managing editor. His previous writing stints include Mint, Forbes India and The Economic Times.
Editor-in-chief
ashish@mailtmc.com
London
Harveen is a co-founder at The Morning Context, and leads our Internet coverage. She has previously worked as a media, consumer and tech reporter at The Ken and Mint. At The Morning Context, she writes on startups, venture capital, consumer and media businesses—from e-commerce to healthtech to streaming.
Editor, Internet
harveen@mailtmc.com
Dubai