Rajeev Mishra will step down from his role as CEO of SoftBank Global Advisors, which manages Vision Fund 2. It comes as pressure on SoftBank’s investment strategy comes amid poor bets and a crash in technology stocks this year.
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Rajeev Mishra, who runs of softbank The massive tech investment arm will step back from one of its roles, the Japanese conglomerate confirmed to CNBC on Thursday.
Mishra will create an external multi-asset investment fund.
He will continue to be CEO of SoftBank Investment Advisors, the entity responsible for the $100 billion Vision Fund, which has made high-profile bets on companies Uber for Chinese ride-hailing giant DiDi. Vision Fund One was established in 2017.
Mishra will also continue as executive vice president of parent company SoftBank Group.
However, the executive will step down from his role as CEO of SoftBank Global Advisors which manages the second Vision Fund, called Vision Fund 2. Instead, he will become vice president and play a lesser role. SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 was established in 2019.
But SoftBank’s investment strategy has come under heavy criticism and pressure this year amid poor bets and plunging technology stocks.
One of the most high-profile issues came with co-working space company WeWork, which failed to go public in 2019 After concerns were raised about its business model and corporate governance. WeWork finally went public last year through a special purpose acquisition company,
SoftBank’s Vision Fund posted a Record 3.5 trillion yen loss (25.7 billion) for its fiscal year ended March 31 as technology stocks continued to fall.
Masayoshi Son, the outspoken founder of the Japanese giant, will take on a more direct leadership role with Vision Fund 2 backed by the current executive team.
financial Times reported on Thursday that Misra’s new fund will be worth about $6 billion and will be backed by Abu Dhabi-based state investment funds Mubadala and ADQ as well as Royal Group.