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Tag: SoftBank

  • SoftBank JV to invest $125m in Project Loon

    SoftBank JV to invest $125m in Project Loon

    Japan’s SoftBank has announced that its joint venture HAPSMobile will invest $125 million in Google’s Project Loon to advance the use of high-altitude vehicles to carry mobile base stations.

    HAPSMobile, the joint venture between SoftBank and US-based unmanned aerial vehicle systems company AeroVironment, was established in 2017 to conduct network equipment research and development for the high-altitude platform station (HAPS) business.

    Under the agreement with Google, Loon has been given the right to invest the same sum in HAPSMobile at a later date.

    The two companies have also agreed to actively explore commercial collaborations to accelerate the development of high altitude network connectivity solutions, such as the network of stratospheric balloons that Loon is trialling to deliver internet access to unserved areas of the world.

    Potential areas of collaboration being negotiated include enabling flight vehicles from each party to connect and share the same network connectivity in the air, as well as the establishment of a wholesale business that would allow HAPSMobile to utilize Loon’s vehicle and technology, and allow Loon to utilize HAPSMobile’s in-development unmanned aircraft.

    Other possibilities include a jointly developed communications payload that is adaptable to multiple flight vehicles, a common gateway or ground station that could be deployed globally and used by both companies to provide connectivity over their platforms, and adapting Loon’s fleet management system and temporospatial SDN for use by HAPSMobile.

    “Building a telecommunications network in the stratosphere, which has not been utilized by humankind so far, is uncharted territory and a major challenge for SoftBank,” SoftBank CTO Junichi Miyakawa said.

    “Working with Alphabet’s subsidiary Loon, I’m confident we can accelerate the path toward the realization of utilizing the stratosphere for global networks by pooling our technologies, insights and experience. Even in this current era of coming 5G services, we cannot ignore the reality that roughly half of the world’s population is without Internet access. Through HAPS, we aim to eliminate the digital divide and provide people around the world with the innovative network services that they need.”

    “We see joining forces as an opportunity to develop an entire industry, one which holds the promise to bring connectivity to parts of the world no one thought possible,” Loon CEO Alastair Westgarth added.

    “This is the beginning of a long-term relationship based on a shared vision for expanding connectivity to those who need it. We look forward to what the future holds.”

  • SoftBank may invest in Reliance Jio

    SoftBank may invest in Reliance Jio

    Japan’s SoftBank is reportedly in talks to invest up to $3 billion in fast-growing Indian operator Reliance Jio Infocomm.

    SoftBank’s Vision Fund is involved in due diligence on the prospect of the purchase of a stake in Jio  that could be worth $2 billion to $3 billion, unnamed sources told.

    The SoftBank Vision fund has raised $100 billion as part of plans to invest in fast-growing scalable technology companies with transformative potential. Former Deusche Bank executive Rajeev Misra has been appointed to lead the vision fund.

    Neither Softbank nor Jio would comment publicly for the report, so the potential for a deal remains unconfirmed for now.

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  • Softbank To Buy Wirecard Shares

    Softbank To Buy Wirecard Shares

    Japan’s Softbank Group will purchase a 5.6 percent stake in German payments company Wirecard by acquiring convertible bonds worth about 900 million euros ($1 billion), Wirecard said in a statement on Wednesday.

    «As global innovators, we focus heavily on expanding our networks and creating opportunities for companies with groundbreaking ideas. In SoftBank, we have found a partner that shares both our passion for new technologies and drive to spearhead the latest innovations, all on a global scale,» said Markus Braun, CEO at Wirecard.

    The two companies said they had also signed a memorandum of understanding for a strategic tie-up in providing digital solutions. SoftBank will help Wirecard expand into Japan and South Korea, and provide collaboration opportunities in digital payments, data-analytics/AI and innovative digital financial services within the Japanese firm’s portfolio companies

    As part of the deal, Wirecard said it shall issue convertible bonds with a term of five years exclusively to an affiliate of SoftBank, convertible to 6,923,076 million ordinary shares at 130 euros per Wirecard share. The issuance of the convertible bonds is subject to shareholders’ approval at its annual general meeting on June 18, Wirecard said.

    The investment comes amidst the payment firm’s ongoing defense against Financial Times newspaper reports this year saying staff at its Asian operations had inflated reported revenue.

    Last month, Wirecard said an outside law firm investigating the matter found the local staff at its Singapore office may have committed crimes, but these were not material to the German payment company’s financial position.

    Credit Suisse is serving as financial adviser to SoftBank and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP as legal adviser. Noerr LLP and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP are serving as legal advisers to Wirecard.

  • Ebay Buying in India’s Paytm Mall

    Ebay Buying in India’s Paytm Mall

    International e-commerce platform Ebay is preparing to head a US$160–170 million investment in e-tailer Paytm Mall.

    In a report last Monday, the move was interpreted as a grab at O2O commerce and payments opportunities in India. It will be the third major e-commerce investment in the territory for the firm following its minors stakes in Flipkart and Snapdeal.

    Paytm Mall raised about US$215 million from Japan’s SoftBank and existing investor Alibaba mid last year, at a valuation of $1.6–2 billion. It has raised roughly $645 million in funding to date.

    The firm has a minority segment of the Indian market, which is largely dominated by its two biggest competitors Amazon and Flipkart.

  • Japanese telcos assigned 5G spectrum

    Japanese telcos assigned 5G spectrum

    Japan’s telecom ministry has allocated 5G mobile spectrum to incumbent operators NTT Docomo, KDDI, and Softbank, as well as local e-commerce giant Rakuten.

    The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has approved the allocation of spectrum after determining that the companies’ applications met the conditions of the allocation.

    The four companies plan to invest heavily in 5G, spending a combined 1.6 trillion yen ($14.4 billion) over the next five years. Docomo is planning the largest spend, with goals to invest at least 795 billion yen in 5G over this time.

    The four plan to commence commercial 5G services in 2020, with KDDI and SoftBank planning to commence advertising for its services in March.

    Rakuten Mobile, Japan’s upcoming newest market entrant, meanwhile plans to commence 4G services in October 2019 and 5G services in June 2020.

    The conditions for the allocation of spectrum included commitments to commence services in every prefecture of the nation within two years, and set up 5G base stations in at least half the country within five years.

    According to the report, Docomo and KDDI are each targeting more than 90% 5G population coverage by the end of the five years, while SoftBank is targeting 64% coverage while Rakuten is aiming for 56%.

  • Softbank, Chunghwa Telecom partner on AI, IoT

    Softbank, Chunghwa Telecom partner on AI, IoT

    Taiwanese incumbent carrier Chunghwa Telecom has signed an MoU with Japan’s Softbank for collaboration on artificial intelligence (AI) and IoT.

    In a statement, the companies said the technological and commercial cooperation aims to develop use cases for future smart cities in Taiwan.

    It will also involve ST Solutions Taiwan Co. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank Corp.

    The pair said they plan to leverage their insights and experiences from the collaboration in AI, IoT and related fields.

    The collaboration will initially focus on such areas as global IoT platforms, smart infrastructure, smart agriculture as well as utilization of high-accuracy location data and big data.

    The partnership with Softbank is Chunghwa Telecom’s latest push in IoT.

    In February, the Taiwanese operator inked a deal with Ericsson to use the Swedish vendor’s IoT Accelerator platform to develop IoT services for its enterprise customers.

    Max Chen, president of mobile business group, at Chunghwa Telecom, was quoted as saying in the statement that the partnership with Ericsson will boost its capabilities in machine learning and IoT operations.

    “As Taiwan’s industry is mainly export-driven, Chunghwa Telecom’s IoT innovation drive will help local industries to expand their international IoT business horizon,” Chen said.

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  • SoftBank deploying Cisco SRv6 network

    SoftBank deploying Cisco SRv6 network

    Cisco is collaborating with SoftBank on the world’s first Segment Routing IPv6 (SRv6) deployment. With the anticipation of the coming 5G era, Cisco has been assisting SoftBank to deploy an SRv6 network nationwide to build a future network architecture that is extremely scalable, with improved reliability, flexibility and agility, all while helping to reduce capex and opex.

    Current mobile networks are deployed as divided networks, with several layers and complicated control plane processing, which makes it difficult to respond to strict quality requirements like in the case of 5G. Deploying SRv6 in a 5G mobile network aims to simplify network layers and integrate user plane functions from end-to-end with only IPv6 protocol.

    “Converging 5G features into the end-to-end IPv6 layer with Segment Routing capabilities, is the key to embodying 5G in a simple, scalable architecture,” SoftBank CTO Junichi Miyakawa said.

    “With the depth of portfolio and strong network knowledge that Cisco brings to the table, we knew together we could bring our vision to life.”

    “SoftBank has kept an intense focus on improving service quality for its customers, which can be challenging when trying to reduce costs,” said Sumeet Arora, Senior Vice President of Service Provider Networks, Cisco. “With the launch of SRv6 network programming, it is pioneering the next phase of IP networking through automation, and championing the needs of its customers.”

    Cisco is leading the disruption in the industry with its technology innovations in routing, 5G, subscriber experience (mobile, cable, fixed), automation, optical and optics. Together with its Customer Experience team of experts, Cisco enables service providers, media and web companies to reduce cost and complexity, helps scale and secure their networks, and grow their revenue.

  • SoftBank Ventures invests in Trevari, a Korean book club

    SoftBank Ventures invests in Trevari, a Korean book club

    SoftBank Ventures announced Tuesday it invested 4.5 billion won ($4 million) in Trevari, a Korean book club operator. Fast Investment, another venture capitalist firm, invested an additional 500 million won in Trevari’s first publicly-announced funding round.

    “While adults today are reading less and less, the Trevari team has proven the success of its business model through quality book clubs,” said a spokesperson from SoftBank Ventures.

    Founded in 2015, Trevari operates paid membership-based book clubs. Members can sign up to join Trevari’s 300-plus book clubs located around Seoul and meet up with fellow members every month to discuss books on topics of their preference.

    Some of the book clubs are headed by special experts in the field, including former Naver CEO Kim Sang-hun.

    As of last August, over 13,600 individuals have participated in Trevari’s book clubs.

    A four-month membership costs between 190,000 won and 290,000 won.

  • Indonesia’s Tokopedia Secures $1.1b From Alibaba, SoftBank

    Indonesia’s Tokopedia Secures $1.1b From Alibaba, SoftBank

    Indonesian e-commerce company Tokopedia said on Wednesday that it had secured $1.1 billion in its latest funding round led by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding and Japan’s SoftBank Group. This follows a similar investment in 2017, also led by Alibaba, which has been expanding rapidly into Southeast Asia amid slowing growth in China’s e-commerce market.

    Tokopedia said it planned to use the funds to invest in technology and infrastructure, adding that the firm would continue to focus on the Indonesian market and drive economic development and financial inclusion in the country.

    The investment would help “broaden Tokopedia’s scale and reach” besides improving its operational efficiency, chief executive and co-founder William Tanuwijaya said in a statement.

    Tokopedia did not confirm a valuation following the round. However, news website TechCrunch citing an unnamed source said the company was valued at around $7 billion.

    The latest funding boosts Alibaba’s share of the fast-growing Indonesian e-commerce market. The Chinese company is also the majority owner of Lazada, which is the Tokopedia’s top competitor in the market.

    Indonesia is also increasingly becoming a proxy battleground for Alibaba and JD.com, China’s second-largest e-commerce company, which has invested heavily in building a logistics network in the archipelago.

    Founded in 2009, Tokopedia is currently Indonesia’s largest online marketplace, drawing comparisons to Alibaba’s Taobao.

    The latest round includes investments from Softbank’s Vision Fund as well as Softbank Ventures Korea and Sequoia Capital.

    The company, which delivers to around 93 percent of Indonesian districts, says it has quadrupled its sales in the past year.

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  • Coupang Korea to sack $2 billion funding

    Coupang Korea to sack $2 billion funding

    South Korea’s Coupan, the fast-growing e-commerce firm, will receive an investment of US$2 billion from the SoftBank Vision Fund. The funding follows SoftBank Group’s initial investment of $1 billion in June 2015. The new round of capital will enable Coupang to continue investing in consumer-first technologies.

    Lydia Jett, partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers and a Coupang board member, said the company Coupang wants to have “a revolutionary technology platform and uncompromising focus on customer delight”.

    “We believe the company is well-positioned to lead the Korean e-commerce market, with significant platform opportunities ahead given its data, payments and logistics advantage.”

    With revenue more than doubling in the last two years and approaching $5 billion this year, Coupang is Korea’s largest online retailer with more than 120 million items for sale and 4 million available for guaranteed one-day delivery.

    Millions of customers buy from Coupang more than 50 times per year, and one in every two Koreans has downloaded Coupang’s mobile application.

    Coupang CEO Bom Kim said: “At Coupang, we are obsessed with making customers’ lives easier.

    We’re excited to continue our partnership with SoftBank. We are confident this investment will allow us to leverage the platforms we have created in logistics, payments, and data to make e-commerce and other innovations even more indispensable to our customers.”

  • Baby apparel FirstCry in talks with Alibaba, SoftBank for funding

    Baby apparel FirstCry in talks with Alibaba, SoftBank for funding

    Indian online baby product retailer FirstCry is in funding talks with Chinese e-commerce platform Alibaba and Japanese multinational conglomerate SoftBank Group. The firm is seeking at least US$100–$150 million in the deal in a move to put it at the forefront of the market, according to unverified reports. Both investing partners may participate in the funding if the deal goes ahead.

    While none of the parties have released statements on the proposal, previous reports have revealed FirstCry as seeking similar investment figures over the past year.

    FirstCry has raised more than $100 million since launching in 2010. The business derives the majority of revenue from a network of more than 300 stores despite the relatively small size of its offline business compared to its online presence.

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  • Softbank, Toyota form JV for mobility services in Japan

    Softbank, Toyota form JV for mobility services in Japan

    Japan’s Softbank and automaker Toyota announced plans to form a joint venture by April 2019 to provide launch Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) in the country. The company, called Monet Technologies, will combine Toyota’s mobility services platform and information infrastructure for connected vehicles with Softbank’s Internet of Things platform, the companies said in a joint statement.

    Initially, Monet plans to roll out just-in-time vehicle dispatch services for Japanese public agencies and private companies to meet user demand. Those services include on-demand transportation service and corporate shuttles.

    By the second half of the 2020s, Monet intends to launch an autono-MaaS (autonomous mobility as a service) businesses, using Toyota’s e-Palette battery electric vehicles.

    These vehicles will deliver meals with food prepared in the vehicles, provide hospital shuttles where onboard medical examinations can be carried out onboard.  These vehicles can also serve as mobile offices, Softbank said.

    Softbank said Monet will roll out its mobility services in Japan before focusing on future expansion to the global market.

    The joint venture will have initial capital of 2 billion yen ($17.49 million), and this will be increased to 10 billion yen in future.

    Softbank will own 50.25% of the JV and Toyota take the remaining 49.75%.

    SoftBank Corp representative director and CTO Junichi Miyakawa will be president and CEO of the new joint venture.

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  • Softbank said to pick banks to lead $27b mobile IPO

    Softbank said to pick banks to lead $27b mobile IPO

    Japan’s Softbank has reportedly selected the banks that will serve as lead underwriters for the IPO of its domestic mobile business. The operator has picked banks including Nomura Holdings, Mizuho Financial, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank to underwite the offer for around 3 trillion yen ($26.82 billion) worth of shares, citing unnamed sources. This would make the IPO the largest ever, beating Alibaba Group’s $25 billion IPO from 2014.

    According to the sources, Softbank currently plans to start marketing the IPO next month and could list shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by mid-December, but this timing is subject to change.

    Softbank’s founder Masayoshi Son is seeking to squeeze value from its telecoms assets to raise funds for his Vision Fund, which aims to raise $100 billion from global investors every two to three years to invest in promising startups and emerging technologies.

    The operator is expected to market most of the shares on offer to Japanese investors.

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  • Softbank tests NIDD technology for IoT services

    Softbank tests NIDD technology for IoT services

    SoftBank said it has been using NIDD (non-IP data delivery) technology to allow its IoT services to bypass the internet.

    The Japanese operator announced recently that it has succeeded in completing what it claims is the world’s first connection test in a commercial environment for NIDD, which has been newly defined in the 3GPP for NB-IoT.

    Softbank said NIDD enables users to transmit data to IoT devices without allocating an IP address, which reduces the risk of a malicious attack targeting an IoT device, making it possible to build a highly secure IoT network.

    By eliminating such data as header information additionally required in conventional data communications, the company added, the electric power needed for communication is reduced and a broader area can be covered.

    Also, by enabling connection on a closed network with IoT platforms provided by service providers and with external application servers, Softbank said it will enable operator to build a highly secure network from end to end.

    Currently Softbank is providing IoT services using NB-IoT and LTE Cat-M1 technologies, for which an IP address is allocated.

    The company said it aims to introduce and commercialize NIDD technology for devices tailored to various businesses and fields, such as crime prevention, social infrastructure and agriculture, making full use of its distinctive features of high security, low power consumption, and high area coverage.

    A handful of companies – including Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Qualcomm, DK Corporation, Affirmed Networks and SB Cloud – are supporting the company’s NIDD experiment in Japan and will work together with Softbank toward further development of the IoT market.

    “We expect that NIDD technology to reduce communication load for IoT devices and enables to accelerate utilization in IoT field especially for those who had difficulty in conventional conditions,” said Akira Sakakibara, CTO at Microsoft Japan.

    “As NIDD technology corresponds to open standards, it can easily connect to Microsoft Azure IoT platform and enable to implement data management, view and AI features. SoftBank and Microsoft Japan will continuously contribute to accelerate IoT technology utilization in every industry.”

    Tadashi Okazaki, head of solution architect at Amazon Web Services Japan, said security for IoT devices is strongly in demand as IoT popularity is growing.

    “With the implementation of NIDD technology which securely connects AWS IoT platform and peripheral device, we expect to accelerate the popularization of IoT technology,” he said.

    “Low power consumption is one of the characteristic of NIDD technology. Therefore, we hope to solve the long discussed controversy of IoT devices’ high power consumption.”

  • Link Net and Japan’s Softbank Join Hands to Launch IoT in Indonesia

    Link Net and Japan’s Softbank Join Hands to Launch IoT in Indonesia

    Link Net, an internet service provider operating under Lippo Group subsidiary First Media, and Japanese telecommunications provider SoftBank Corp have signed a partnership agreement to develop and deploy the internet of things, or IoT, in Link Net’s businesses in real estate, health care and mobile ecosystems in Indonesia.

    Link Net chief executive Marlo Budiman and Hidebumi Kitahara, vice president for global business strategy at SoftBank, signed the agreement during a ceremony at Aryaduta Hotel in Central Jakarta on June 29.

    “We are pleased to collaborate with SoftBank in the initial phase of the initiative involving the deployment of IoT devices, along with video analytics for homes, commercial buildings, malls, offices, streets and other areas at our various property developments,” Marlo said in a statement on Thursday (05/07).

    The collaboration will see the deployment of an IoT system in the Lippo Group’s shopping malls and Siloam hospitals, as well as at Meikarta, the company’s $21 billion megaproject in Cikarang, West Java.

    Lippo has billed Meikarta as the Shenzhen of Indonesia, a tech and manufacturing city located in the southern part of mainland China, near Hong Kong.

    Marlo said the development of IoT in Indonesia is in line with the country’s vision of becoming the largest digital economy in Southeast Asia.

    “The global mobile industry is now entering the era of 5G, with IoT becoming the central focal point of innovation. This partnership with Link Net shows our strong commitment to further boost technological innovation in the global market and further advance the development of information and communications technology in Indonesia,” Kitahara said.

    The partnership was initiated during a meeting between Lippo Group deputy chairman James Riady, Lippo Group director John Riady and directors of the SoftBank Group in Tokyo during May this year.

    SoftBank is a subsidiary of the SoftBank Group, a multinational Japanese conglomerate that focuses on information technology, which includes investments in numerous startups and tech conglomerates, such as China’s Alibaba and Malaysian ride-hailing service Grab.

    In addition to internet connectivity and fixed-line communication services, SoftBank is also expanding its business into robotics, financial technology and cloud security systems.

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