SoftBank Investment Advisers

Congratulations to Swiggy on its official debut in the public markets, raising ~$1.3B, making it this year’s largest technology IPO. SoftBank is proud to have partnered with Swiggy on its journey to becoming India’s leading on-demand convenience platform, bringing innovation and convenience to millions of customers nationwide. Sriharsha M. Nandan Reddy Phani Kishan Addepalli and their team have built Swiggy into a credible proxy for new-age consumerism in India, helping more than 110 million customers enjoy rapidly evolving urbanisation with convenience. This IPO is a testament to the team’s relentless focus on customer experience, operational excellence, and pioneering spirit. We’re excited to watch and continue to support the team as they continue to scale greater heights. Here’s to many more milestones ahead. Sumer Juneja Sarthak Misra

We are excited to continue our partnership with Ualá as they expand on their mission to bring financial freedom to millions of users across Argentina and the Latin America market. Their latest Series E fundraise of $300 million will drive further access to financial tools that enable anyone to meaningfully participate in the growing global economy, through services that include debit cards, credit, high-yield savings, and their popular recent addition of dollar-denominated accounts. Ualá’s proven success in uplifting financial stability for a wide range of users has made them the largest startup in Argentina, and we’re thrilled to support them as they roll out new products and scale across geographies. Congratulations to CEO Pierpaolo Barbieri and the entire Ualá team on their continued success. Read more here:  https://lnkd.in/eVbcsuZR

Addressing obesity, and the many health conditions that are associated with it, is one of the most pressing issues of our time. We are pleased to partner with Metsera on their recent $215 million Series B fundraise as they develop a suite of products including injectable and oral GLP-1 agonists and nutrient-stimulated hormonal peptides. Metsera’s portfolio of products represent the next frontier in weight-loss therapies that maximize results while minimizing side effects. and We’re excited to work with them as they scale up their research and production capabilities, and target global growth. Congratulations to CEO Whit Bernard and the entire Metsera team as they continue on their journey to reduce the burden of obesity and change the face of global health. https://lnkd.in/eBYg8-Jk

Last week, the SoftBank Investment Advisers team invited leaders from its Latin American portfolio to Silicon Valley for a deep dive into Artificial Intelligence (AI).    Over three days, more than 40 founders came together to forge new connections and discuss the latest developments of the technology with renowned experts. The group included professors from Stanford University and founders and global leaders of companies such as Arm, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Calm, Databricks, Scale AI and Meta, among others.    “It was truly energizing to spend time with our founder community and experts from industry and academia discussing the cutting edge of AI,” says Juan Franck, SoftBank’s managing partner in Latin America.   “Our portfolio companies are already embracing the revolution, and it’s clear from the discussions that there’s still huge value to be unlocked,” says Alex Szapiro, SoftBank’s managing partner in Latin America.   Thanks to all who attended: Afya, Asaas, Avenue, Bitso, Buser Brasil, Descomplica, GBM, Habi, Kavak.com, Konfío, Loggi, MadeiraMadeira, MB | Mercado Bitcoin, Nubank, Open Co, QuintoAndar, Rappi and unico IDtech.

When logistics giant Delhivery debuted on India’s BSE and NSE public markets, it was the culmination of over a year of preparation — an intense period that transformed the company’s financial, legal, and regulatory operations. “You don’t want your best resources focused on the IPO for too long,” says CFO Amit Agarwal. “You need them focused on your business.” Hear from Agarwal and other CFOs to learn more about timing the decision to go public, building a launch team, following compliance requirements, and more. https://lnkd.in/gR6jxjvJ #startups #insights #tech

63% of CFOs are spending more time on operations this year than two years ago, and 50% more on sales/go-to-market activities. This shift reflects the evolving role of the CFO, as today’s finance leaders are driving growth and innovation while also helping shape company strategy — aligning financial goals with broader business objectives. “The CFO’s role has broadened considerably,” says AutoStore™ CFO Paul Harrison. “CEOs are now more readily using their CFOs as a sounding board across a range of decisions.” Discover how CFOs are adapting and shaping strategy in this analysis of our latest survey: https://lnkd.in/gnX6FUnA #CFO #Leadership #Strategy

Our Co-CEO Alex Clavel sat down in Mumbai with Samidha Sharma of The Economic Times to discuss our ongoing commitment to investing in revolutionary tech in India. Alex and Samidha discussed the market factors that have made India the world’s leading IPO market in 2024, the three Indian IPOs from SoftBank-backed companies this year to date, and the opportunity in AI infrastructure and data that he sees on the horizon. Our conviction in Indian entrepreneurship and in the country’s potential for ongoing technological transformation has led SoftBank to become the largest foreign investor in India’s digital economy over the last decade. We’re thrilled to continue to expand our investments in the market and support the region’s growth. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eam-MjgQ

Tractable CEO Venkat Sathyamurthy wants to demystify the AI hype. "Too many companies are focused on fancy things and buzzwords, and that’s killing them right now,” he says. “We can’t afford to do that. That’s why we focus heavily on outcome, outcome, outcome.” Tractable’s computer vision technology assesses images of damaged vehicles and quickly identifies which parts are broken to estimate repair costs. This innovation is poised to transform the auto insurance industry. In our Q&A, Sathyamurthy shares more about how his company is leveraging AI to drive real results for customers. https://lnkd.in/gpgN3b22 #ai #insurance #tech

An IPO is a seminal moment for a company. The decision to take your business public is a springboard for growth, but the journey to get there presents a completely new set of challenges. “Ringing the bell to officially publicly list is an incredible milestone and should be celebrated,” says SoftBank Investment Advisers Executive Managing Partner and CFO Navneet Govil. “But, ultimately, it’s one day in a company’s journey.” We asked CFOs who went from private to public to share insights and reflections on their path to an IPO. Here’s what they told us: https://lnkd.in/geGs3jEu #startups #insights #tech

Earlier this week, we were proud to share the news that Lenskart.com won Startup of the Year at the ET Startup Awards 2024. Learn more about the company’s journey from a burgeoning D2C startup to a worldwide leader in eyewear in our feature story: