20210922 Biz spot Main

Masayoshi Son, a telecom magnate turned tech investor, is turning his attention to business-focused internet companies. (Source photos by screenshot from SoftBank's website and AFP/Jiji) 

SoftBank joins the hunt for the next software giant

Rise of enterprise software companies prompts surge of bets in sector

TOKYO -- Andrew Barnes was not planning to raise hundreds of millions of dollars for his Australian workforce training startup, Go1, earlier this year. But when he began pitching to investors, he was overwhelmed with a flood of interest, including from a new candidate: SoftBank. 

"When we saw that interest, and when we thought of the next five to 10 years plus, there's a very exciting market opportunity in the space in which we are operating," Barnes recalled in an interview. 

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