2022 BRN Discussion, page-5414

Whilst there is a lot of attention as to whether Cathie Wood and ARK will take a position in BrainChip (and rightly so), I have previously highlighted my interest in the SoftBank Vision Fund. SoftBank are committed to investing in market leading AI growth companies and are very astute in identifying businesses who are either 'transforming or shaping' new industries.

Given that BrainChip has met this profile as the first to market commercial provider of revolutionary neuromorphic AI I would like to think that an inclusion within the Vision Fund will be considered by SoftBank during 2022. (For those that are not aware, ARM are currently part of the SoftBank Group and as such the business would be acutely aware of BrainChip's path to market and Akida pipeline). Among many criteria for investment the Vision Fund is focused on long-term beneficial AI and constant investment in development. BrainChip ticks both of these boxes.

Below is a two-part piece I had not read previously which was posted in the WSJ last year.

SoftBank are incredibly excited by AI, and you know what? So am I.

AKIDA BALLISTA

IMO, DYOR

How One Company’s Vision for Happiness is Driving Change (#1)

SoftBank Group Corp. (SBG) isn’t a typical company. A recent report bythe company, for example, begins by juxtaposing three images: an Egyptiandrawing of men in a horse-drawn chariot from 5,000 years ago, an early car from100 years ago and a futuristic autonomous vehicle run by artificialintelligence. It illustrates that technological change is accelerating, with AIthe new game changer.

The company’s missionis to build a happier future for all, measuring success in terms of realsolutions. And it’s through investing in AI technology that the company sees apath to reaching those goals.

“We believe constantevolution is our most powerful competitive advantage,” says Masayoshi Son,founder and head of SBG.

Since its inception,the company has focused on technology with a social purpose, and that visionhas remained unwavering, despite an ever-changing and globalizing businessenvironment. SBG’s founder, Masayoshi Son, while studying at the University ofCalifornia, Berkeley, recognized the immense potential for personal computersand the software that they’d need. Then, in September 1981, he started SOFTBANKCorp. Japan to distribute PC software and create an information society inJapan.

For many companies, the most significant growth comes through expansioninto related sectors. Driven by its vision of improving lives throughtechnological progress, SBG has done just that, with its success built onkeeping one step ahead of the curve.

For example, it hasinvested ahead of the major technological trends shaping our lives—from thebirth of the PC, to the internet, to the smartphone and mobile era, and now itsfocus on artificial intelligence. The company believes that technology is keyto building a happier and more fulfilling future and has broadened the scope ofits technologies, transforming itself from a telecommunications company into aglobal investor in entrepreneurs around the world. These innovators arereimagining e-commerce, healthcare, finance, mobility and other sectors.

As a result, SBG isunlike most corporations; it is a platform for entrepreneurship. Mr. Son, whois also chief executive and chairman, provides a strong brand, globalcapabilities and mentorship for founders and for his own executives to dreambig and do big things. Entrepreneurship is the driving force behind all itdoes.

The COVID-19 pandemic is an example of this entrepreneurial spirit inaction. Despite its devastating impact, COVID-19 has accelerated the pace ofdigitization. While the virus has caused tremendous pain for so many, whatdifferentiates SBG is its relationship with its entrepreneurs, who look forsilver linings—in this case, the opportunity to bring new technologies to lifeeven in the current climate. They have a partner in SBG to support rapidchange. The pressure of the pandemic has sped up adoption of new technologiesthat may otherwise have taken a decade or longer. Some of the most innovativeideas of our time undoubtedly will stem from this period of disruption anduncertainty.

The pandemic has onlyreaffirmed the company’s strategy of emphasizing technology, data and AI in itsinvestment philosophy. It continues to invest in the AI Revolution, focusing onfunding companies that use AI to improve the way we work, live and play. AndSBG has proven its philosophy, building one of the largest tech ecosystems inthe world.

Our habits havefundamentally changed with digitalization. And these trends will continue toevolve as we leverage AI to take digitalization to a new level, with eversmarter and more agile technologies. We are already seeing the benefits. Today,AI-enabled software helps us find the nearest restaurant or get answers to ourquestions within a matter of seconds. It enables businesses to sort throughmountains of data, streamline processes and provide analysis on potentialoperational next steps. And AI is driving unprecedented health discoveries thatwill help us improve life. And this is only the beginning of the AI revolution.SBG has been there since the start to drive the next generation of newsolutions by investing in humans, who are creating that progress.

With SoftBank GroupCorp.’s Vision, the company is doubling down on its vision for happiness. “Weare heading for an AI revolution, and we will be the investment company for theAI revolution,” Mr. Son says. That means not only more investment in moreinnovative companies but also making connections among them to propel themfarther, faster. It means putting information technology to work toward abetter world with more opportunities for personal fulfilment. SoftBank GroupCorp.’s goal, in a word, is happiness.

Written by The Wall Street Journal Custom Studios, 2021

https://group.softbank/en/philosophy/happiness-empowered-ai/global

How (Artificial) Intelligence Will Lead to Our Happiness (#2)

Artificial intelligence is transforming every business, every aspect ofour lives in much the same way the internet has over the past 25 years. Andlike the internet, AI is important not only on its own but also for how itenables so many other technologies. The centrality of AI to so many othertechnologies is why SoftBank Group Corp. (SBG) has made AI the core of itsinvestment philosophy, including its strategy around the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic has castlight on some of the needs that AI can help address. The pandemic has also spedup digitization and adoption of new technologies. For example, researchersaround the world used AI to analyze data, significantly shortening designcycles for vaccine development. AI is being used in other areas of medicine,too, such as to find new treatments and speed up diagnoses for cancer. It canalso improve the administrative side of healthcare by automating tasks,providing chatbots to help patients stay on track with medications or regimens,or getting information to doctors faster. It’s changes like these that SBG isworking to accelerate.

The pandemic impactededucation, as well, allowing teachers and students to discover that technologycan be a useful complement to classrooms and may also one day soon offer asolution to overcoming disparities in access to education. In finance, thepandemic accelerated a shift toward online services, with AI-based chatbots androboadvisors helping people navigate financial choices from the convenience andsafety of their own homes. Even buying property has moved online, with visitsarranged via virtual or augmented reality.

By investing in thesekinds of AI-driven technologies across industries as diverse as education,wellness (including healthcare and fitness), finance, mobility and logistics,SBG’s focus is on driving transformations that improve lives and benefit usall, bringing greater happiness to our everyday lives.

“We’re entering the next chapter of transformation, driven by the AIrevolution that is poised to redefine all industries,” said Chairman and CEOMasayoshi Son in a recent open letter. “We believe the next twenty years willbring greater innovation and disruption than the past 300 years. The way welive will be transformed—from how we travel to how we work, from how we detectdiseases to how we cure them, from how we construct our cities to how we growour food.”

As numerous as AI applications are, people have only just begun to tapinto AI’s potential. SBG, through its investment in AI, is working toward atomorrow that’s safer, more sustainable, more fulfilling. Its investmentstrategy is simple. It invests in companies that utilize technology to disruptthe way we work, the way we live and the way we play. The company lovesentrepreneurs who are obsessed: obsessed with solving a problem, obsessed withfinding talent, obsessed with making their mark and proving to the world whatthey can do. Obsession is the only thing that can get you up every morning,even when things aren’t going the way you want.

SBG also loves entrepreneurs who are specific. Everyone knows that bigmarkets are important, and competitive advantages are important. But the bestentrepreneurs are very clear and specific about what they are doing, eventhough it may sound less grand than some “big idea”. They know their business,they know their customers, they know their product intimately.

The company alsoshares a passion with entrepreneurs who are building for the long-term. Itdoesn’t focus on the next quarter; it focuses on the next century. It alignsmost naturally with entrepreneurs who think in terms of the future value theyare building, not just what revenue number they are hitting this month. Thebest founders are constantly investing in the future—that’s what makes them sodifferent from most professional, public-market CEOs, who are solving for thenext quarter.

With its focus on driving real solutions to tomorrow’s problems, SBGcalculates return on investment not solely in terms of financial returns butalso by the positive impact it makes in peoples’ lives around the world. Andthe big bets it’s making in AI are helping to make that more feasible thanever.

“I recall announcingour Next 30-Year Vision at our General Meeting of Shareholders in June 2010 onthe occasion of our 30th anniversary,” Mr. Son says. “At that time, I forecastthat a brain computer would become a reality, allowing us to coexist withintelligent robots within the next thirty years from 2010. I also claimed thatthe spread of IoT would inevitably connect every facet of life to the internet,and that the cloud, which integrates all data, would evolve into humankind’sgreatest asset. Ten years later, with the rapid rise of AI, smart robots andthe cloud, I feel the future that we envisioned is steadily approaching.”

SoftBank Group Corp.has declared its mission to build a happier future for all, and it can’t comesoon enough. That’s why the company is so focused on advancing AI technology—tohelp individuals and enable them to thrive. The company’s driving passion is towrite humanity’s next chapter—a more joyful tomorrow—through technology.

Written by The WallStreet Journal Custom Studios, 2021

https://group.softbank/en/philosophy/happiness-empowered-ai/ai