Vice Chairman SoftBank Group Corp, Head of SoftBank Investment Advisers US Activities
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01 –
What has surprised you the most about the innovation that you’re seeing?
Both the quantity and the quality of the opportunities. Early on, as the idea for the Vision Fund developed, there was a question as to whether we’d find enough companies and founders of the quality and scale we were after. What we've found is that there are more interesting opportunities than even a fund like ours can possibly support. Our objective is to partner with companies that are transforming industries across the globe, where our resources and people will make a difference for them.
02 –
Why do you think this is such a golden age of innovation?
I think that the disruptive potential of this current technology cycle is immense, and entrepreneurs are responding to that. Just to give you a sense of the scale, the GNP of the developed countries is about $70 trillion* and large segments of these economies are being disrupted by technology innovation. Digital connection is everywhere, and there's a growing intelligence to the network itself. So healthcare, commerce, transportation, agriculture, it's all being disrupted. And the founders we're working with see the possibilities, and their ideas are shaping this future.
The broad, important impact of what founders are trying to achieve. Their innovations make financial services available to those who’ve never had access. Healthcare becomes more affordable, effective or accessible. The list goes on. We can provide founders with the resources to free them up from a narrow, short-term profit focus, which positions them for long-term, global growth and value creation.
It starts with transparency and integrity - standards that I've brought to my career, and standards highly valued here at SoftBank Investment Advisers in our people. And it’s what we look for in our founders.
04 –
How do you hope to deliver impact?
I've always had an eye for the long term, and my intention has been to live a life where I could look back after many decades and be proud of my contribution. It starts with transparency and integrity - standards that I've brought to my career, and standards highly valued here at SoftBank Investment Advisers in our people. And it’s what we look for in our founders.
05 –
What does your typical day look like?
Picture a phone headset or your favorite airline. I am busy with one or the other! We are an international business of multi-talented people on several continents. But more seriously, what makes the Fund so exciting is that we are fortunate to work with some of the smartest innovators in the world. So my travel takes me to places where I can talk to brilliant entrepreneurs about their ideas to upend their sector, and more often than not, change the way their customers engage in the world. In other words, my typical day is pretty incredible.
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Eric Chen
Managing Partner, Asia
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