Masayoshi Son

Masayoshi Son is a Japanese billionaire entrepreneur and investor, best known as the founder, chairman, and chief executive of SoftBank Group. A bold and sometimes polarizing figure in global technology investing, he has been responsible for some of the largest and most consequential bets in the history of the industry.

Early Life and Education

Son was born in Japan to a family of Korean descent, and he has spoken openly about facing discrimination during his youth. Ambitious from an early age, he moved to the United States as a teenager to pursue his education. He studied economics and computer science at the University of California, Berkeley, where his entrepreneurial instincts surfaced early; he reportedly earned his first significant money by developing and selling an electronic translator concept while still a student.

His time in the United States exposed him to the rapidly emerging world of personal computing and technology, experiences that would shape his lifelong conviction that information technology would transform society. He returned to Japan determined to build a business at the center of that revolution.

Building SoftBank

Son founded SoftBank in 1981, initially as a distributor of software and a publisher of technology-related media. Over the following decades he steadily expanded the company's scope, moving into telecommunications, internet services, and large-scale investing. SoftBank grew into a sprawling conglomerate with interests spanning many sectors of the technology economy.

One of Son's most celebrated decisions was an early investment in the Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba. That relatively modest stake eventually grew to be worth a fortune, becoming one of the most successful venture investments ever made and cementing his reputation as a visionary, if high-risk, investor. He also led SoftBank's acquisition of major telecommunications and technology assets, including significant stakes and acquisitions in the mobile and chip-design industries.

The Vision Fund and Investment Philosophy

Son dramatically expanded his ambitions with the launch of the SoftBank Vision Fund, an enormous investment vehicle backed by international partners that deployed unprecedented sums into technology startups around the world. The fund invested in a wide range of companies across sectors such as ride-hailing, e-commerce, robotics, and artificial intelligence, reshaping the scale at which venture capital operated.

The results were mixed and at times dramatic. Some investments produced strong returns, while others, including high-profile stumbles, led to substantial losses and public scrutiny. Son became known for his willingness to make outsized bets based on long-term convictions, particularly his belief in the transformative potential of artificial intelligence, which he has described as central to the future of humanity.

Legacy and Influence

Masayoshi Son occupies a distinctive place in the global technology landscape. His career is defined by extraordinary highs and notable setbacks, reflecting an appetite for risk that few investors match. Admirers credit him with foresight about the importance of the internet and artificial intelligence, while critics point to volatility and ambitious bets that did not always pay off.

Throughout the ups and downs, Son has remained committed to a long-term vision in which technology fundamentally reshapes the world, often framing his strategy in terms of decades rather than quarters. As a self-made entrepreneur who rose from modest beginnings to lead one of the most influential investment forces in technology, he stands as a compelling and closely watched figure whose decisions continue to ripple across the global startup and tech industries.