SoftBank's Son defends Vision Fund at Saudi conference

CEO vows to provide AI innovators 'cash to fight' despite WeWork woes

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son reiterates his case for AI investments, in a screenshot from a stream of the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 30. (Photo courtesy of the Future Investment Initiative)

WATARU SUZUKI, Nikkei staff writer

October 30, 2019 22:09 JST

Updated on October 31, 2019 00:17 JST

TOKYO -- SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son on Wednesday defended his strategy of placing long-term bets on artificial intelligence, after U.S. office-sharing startup WeWork's aborted IPO stirred doubts about his $100 billion Vision Fund.

"We identify the entrepreneurs who have the greatest vision to solve the unsolvable," Son told a business conference in the Saudi capital of Riyadh. "They need to have [the] strongest passion. And then we provide the cash to fight."