SoftBank Group is leaning on its fintech and Indian startup portfolio, including the public listings of Lenskart and Meesho, to drive a turnaround in Vision Fund 2 (SVF2), which continues to carry a $22.1 billion gross loss despite recent valuation gains.
Both companies are among the top three largest private investments by fair value in SoftBank’s India portfolio, alongside OYO, which sits in Vision Fund 1.
According to SoftBank’s latest earnings materials, the India portfolio comprises 15 private investments with a combined unrealised fair value of $4.1 billion. Lenskart and Meesho, both backed via SVF2, are now being positioned for public listings in the coming quarters.
Despite historically being one of the most aggressive tech investors in India, SoftBank has been very cautious about investing in the country over the past two years. While SoftBank has come close to investing in a couple of new companies, the Japanese investor has not cut a single new cheque in India since 2022.
SoftBank’s public portfolio posted a $3.5 billion mark-up in the June quarter, driven by sharp valuation gains across multiple listed companies. Among the Indian names, Swiggy and FirstCry saw improved fair values.
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“Our India portfolio continues to do well,” said Navneet Govil, CFO of SoftBank Investment Advisers, during the earnings call. “We’re beginning to see a strong pipeline of IPOs, including Meesho, Lenskart, and other fintech investments.”
The push towards IPOs is part of a broader strategy to unlock value in SVF2, which has started to recover following mark-ups in public holdings like Symbotic and Swiggy. SoftBank executives said the AI-focused strategy behind many SVF2 bets is finally bearing fruit as the global AI wave accelerates.
SoftBank Group Corp reported a net profit of 421.83 billion yen ($2.87 billion) in Q1 FY25, against a profit of 517.18 billion yen ($3.49 billion) in the January–March period (Q4).
Profit at the conglomerate’s investment arm, SoftBank Vision Fund, came in at 726.83 billion yen ($4.94 billion), compared with a gain of 177.26 billion yen ($1.19 billion) last quarter, when mark-ups on Vision Fund I holdings offset weak returns from Indian portfolio companies.
Edited by Jyoti Narayan
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