SoftBank Plans Second AI Venture Fund of More Than $55 Million

SoftBank Group Corp.'s early-stage venture capital arm is setting up a second investment fund dedicated to unearthing promising startups in artificial intelligence, propelling founder Masayoshi Son's ambition of staking out a position in the nascent technology. Deepcore Inc. is preparing to form a new AI investment fund in two to three years as it expands its core startup incubation business, Chief Executive Officer Katsumasa Niki said in an interview. The company aims to find promising companies and nurture the next generation of up-and-comers, enroute to addressing Japan's deficit of global AI firms. Deepcore's second fund will surpass the 6 billion yen ($55 million) raised for the first, Niki said without elaborating. The effort is separate from SoftBank's much better-known Vision Fund, the $100 billion giant that has made large bets on industries from ride-hailing and autonomous driving to co-working spaces.