Sprint parent company to invest $50B in U.S. startups
December 7, 2016 | Bobby Burch
The billionaire behind Sprint’s parent company plans to unload some serious investment capital in American startups.
After a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son announced that he plans to invest $50 billion in U.S. startups that will create tens of thousands of jobs in the next four years, according to the Associated Press. SoftBank purchased a majority of Overland Park-based Sprint in 2013 for $22 billion.
“We are going to invest $50 billion in the U.S. and commit to create 50,000 new jobs,” Son said. “We (will) invest into the new startup companies in the United States.”
While Trump appeared to take credit for the announcement, the prospective capital derives from a previously announced $100 billion fund. SoftBank in October announced that it partnered with a Saudi Arabian wealth fund to launch a $100 billion tech fund. The Wall Street Journal reports that SoftBank has poured more than $45 billion into tech investments alongside co-investors over the past two years. SoftBank owns more than 235 companies and more than 100 affiliates.
Son’s meeting with Trump sets the stage for what could be another attempt by SoftBank to acquire T-Mobile and merge it with Sprint. U.S. regulators thwarted that attempt in 2015, however, a Trump administration may be more open to the idea.
2016 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
LaunchKC reveals 2017 finalists for $500K grant pool
LaunchKC on Friday announced 20 finalists vying for $500,000 in grants. The popular grants contest will award eight startups each a $50,000 non-dilutive grant and one firm a grand prize of $100,000 after a live pitch competition at Techweek Kansas City on Sept. 15. Techweek Kansas City is scheduled from Sept. 11 to Sept. 15…
Overland Park startup nabs $100K from Steve Harvey’s ABC show
As if the national exposure wasn’t enough, local entrepreneur Hilary Philgreen walked away from “Steve Harvey’s Funderdome” on ABC with a $100,000 prize. The show, which aired Sunday, allows inventors to compete for cash to help accelerate their businesses. Overland Park-based StinkBOSS is a solution for everyday odor, eliminating bacteria using ozone technology. Designed for…
SoftBank invests $4.4 billion in WeWork
Global coworking giant WeWork recently raked in a massive investment from SoftBank. The Tokyo-based conglomerate and its $93-billion Vision Fund has injected $4.4 billion into WeWork, which has 23 coworking spaces in the United States — including a shared, 40,000- square-foot workspace in Kansas City in the Crossroads Arts District — and more than 27…
UMKC hatchling Artist INC takes on new ownership, regional expansion
Artist INC, a program supporting hundreds of Kansas City artists, announced Thursday that it has new ownership and will further expand in the region. Formerly a program of the University of Missouri-Kansas City Innovation Center, Artist INC is now housed and fully supported by the Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA). A regional arts nonprofit, M-AAA serves…