Softbank plans to set up a second AI investment fund with a scale of over 6 billion yen to foster start-ups

Deepcore, an early venture capital arm of the Softbank Group, will set up a second investment fund to invest in start-ups in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), which will raise more than 6 billion yen. 

Deepcore CEO Katsumasa Niki said in an interview that the company is preparing to set up a new AI investment fund within two to three years to expand its core startup incubator business, which will be raised more than the first fund. 6 billion yen (about 430 million Hong Kong dollars). The goal of setting up a fund is to find promising companies and train the next generation to solve the plight of Japan’s global AI companies. 

In February last year, Softbank established Deepcore to launch a startup incubation business. Subsequently, Deepcore established the first AI fund. The fund received investment from Softbank, Yahoo Japan, Dentsu and footballer Honda Keisuke. As of May this year, the fund has invested in 18 start-ups in the early stages.