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
7 endearing facts about the founder of H&R Block
Update: Henry Bloch passed away April 23, 2019. Click here to read business leaders’ salutes to the Kansas City icon. Henry Bloch, the co-founder and former CEO of tax prep giant H&R Block, recently spoke with a small group of Kansas City entrepreneurs during Startup Grind. The 93-year-old Kansas City legend shared an array of…
Events Preview: SEMPO Cities, IoT Launch
There are a boatload of entrepreneurial events hosted in Kansas City on a weekly basis. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, investor, supporter or curious Kansas Citian, we’d recommend these upcoming events for you. WEEKLY EVENT PREVIEW SEMPO Cities Kansas City When: October 29 @ 12:00 pm – 7:00 pm Where: Sprint Accelerator We’re excited to announce that…
High-profile judges for Kauffman contest includes Marcelo Claure, VCs
A star-studded lineup of businesspeople from around the nation will be judging 15 startups in the Kauffman Foundation’s One in a Million pitch contest. The competition, which will take place on Nov. 17 and 18 during Global Entrepreneurship Week, will award $10,000 to one startup that previously participated in the foundation’s 1 Million Cups program. Those evaluating…
5 takeaways from Midwest tech investment report
Lead Bank and investment research firm CB Insights recently analyzed the Midwest tech investing scene and distilled their findings into a report. The nearly 40-page report looks at investment trends, performance, major players and more. Here are five takeaways from the report. 1) The Midwest accounted for a small piece of the national tech investment…