The Vision Fund unit, famed for its investment in startups including and , lost about $2 billion as shares of and fell.

The losses come just weeks after the White House announced its new $500 billion AI , in which SoftBank is looking to invest $19 billion, per .

SoftBank also is looking to invest $40 billion into , the creator, at a $260 billion valuation.

The Vision Fund drop is nothing new, as SoftBank has pulled back on investments since 2022 — after interest rates began to rise and venture capital as a whole saw a significant pullback. In mid-2023, founder told investors the multinational investment holding behemoth would again shift from “defense mode” as it looks to be a leader in AI and robotics.

Not done yet

Since then, the company has doubled down on AI deals even as it has shifted away from its Vision Fund.

However, just this week SoftBank put its Vision Fund unit back to work. SoftBank and both took part in a whopping $230 million round for Boston-based neutral-atom quantum firm .

The fund unit also took part in this week’s $125 million Series C for AI-powered workflows startup . The new round valued the company at $1.1 billion.

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The autonomous driving company, previously incubated as an “other bets” project under the umbrella of , says it has raised a staggering $2.25 billion in financing from investors including , the , and Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund . Other firms including , global automotive supplier , pre-owned vehicle listing service , and its corporate parent Alphabet also participated in Waymo’s round.

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“We’ve always approached our mission as a team sport, collaborating with our [original equipment manufacturer] and supplier partners, our operations partners and the communities we serve to build and deploy the world’s most experienced driver,” said , CEO of Waymo. “Today, we’re expanding that team, adding financial investors and important strategic partners who bring decades of experience investing in and supporting successful technology companies building transformative products. With this injection of capital and business acumen, alongside Alphabet, we’ll deepen our investment in our people, our technology and our operations, all in support of the deployment of the Waymo Driver around the world.”

Waymo did not say, precisely, what it will do with its newfound cash, but it did share a number of development and business milestones. The company says its autonomous Waymo Driver platform has driven “more than 20 million miles on public roads across over 25 cities, and over 10 billion miles in simulation.” Waymo added that the company has already shipped its first L4 autonomous vehicles (which include electric vehicles and Class 8 trucks, according to the company) with the company’s latest hardware and beefed onboard sensors and compute hardware.

The company also provided updates about Waymo One, its on-demand autonomous car service which currently operates in Arizona. The service has already provided thousands of trips to locals “in a high-speed mixed usage market area larger than San Francisco.”

The deal comes 10 months after rival self-driving car outfit at an approximate $18 billion post-money valuation. The , , and automakers and participated in the raise.

TechCrunch in March 2019 that the company was seeking outside investment at a lofty valuation. In September, to $105 billion from $175 billion, based on its discounted cashflows.

No information about the company’s valuation or other terms of today’s financing have been disclosed at this time.

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DoorDash said in its announcement that the number of shares on offer and a target price range for the transaction “have not yet been determined.”

The brief statement also adds that the IPO “is expected to take place after the SEC completes its review process, subject to market and other conditions.” In recent days, the U.S. stock market has experienced significant downward pressure amid concerns about the spreading SARS-CoV-2 virus and speculation about the scale of its impact on the global economy.

As of 2017, the SEC has granted smaller, high-growth companies a path to initially file their S-1 registration statements confidently, allowing for regulatory review without immediate exposure to scrutiny from the media and would-be public market investors. Confidentially filed S-1 documents are made public prior to IPO.

According to Crunchbase data, San Francisco-based DoorDash has raised in equity funding since its inception in 2013. Its last private market valuation was approximately $12.6 billion, post-money, earned in .

The include the likes of , , , , , the Singaporean sovereign wealth fund , and the .

DoorDash has never released a complete picture of its financials, which will be part of the IPO process. The company is not profitable and was expected to lose $450 million on revenue of between $900 million and $1 billion in 2019, according to from .

The company faces a number of labor disputes, as its “gig economy” workers are treated as independent contractors and are not eligible to receive benefits like health insurance. Earlier in February DoorDash was as it works through individual cases brought by 5,010 drivers for the platform who believed the company was in violation of California labor law.

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wants to plug the institution’s financial services to Grab’s users, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the deal.

Although Grab started off as a ride-hailing app, its services now go far beyond that. The company wants to be an “everyday everything” app–it currently lets users book rides, meals and hotels, and offers payment services, among other things.

The company operates throughout southeast Asia, including in Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.

The new investment makes Grab extremely well-capitalized. It last raised an extensive Series H round in 2018 and 2019. In 2019, it received a investment from the , followed by a infusion with as the lead investor as part of the Series H round.

With the new funding from Mitsubishi UFJ, Grab’s total funding comes to about , according to Crunchbase.

While it attracts large amounts of venture capital, Grab also invests. Last year it participated in ’ $8 million Series A.

Grab is backed by firms including SoftBank Vision Fund, Invesco, , and automakers like and .

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Switzerland-based seems to have, and the company’s innovative storage method made see enough potential profit to . (The company has raised other capital , including led by , subsidiary of . That deal will make sense shortly.)

For the Vision Fund, the deal size isn’t shocking; but what caught our eye is the technology selected. This is the fund’s first-ever investment into an energy company, according to a by Energy Vault.

Energy Vault is a change from Masayoshi Son and Company putting capital to work in on-demand companies, chips, or dog-walking, and we’re here for it.

Towering Possibilities

Here’s how the company’s Super Jenga (our name, not theirs) system works:

That is very smart? And simple? And pretty cool? And we suspect that it would look pretty neat in action. (TechCrunch of the system.)

Energy storage is an active sector, one that has as our needs to capture, and later access, power have risen; as the world moves towards renewable energy sources, some of which are more cyclical in nature than traditional power generation methods, being able to save generated power is a key piece of work.

To demonstrate the scale of the need for Energy Vault’s product, or one like it, read discussing how Utah may store air power in salt:

One hundred miles south of Salt Lake City, a giant mound of salt reaches thousands of feet down into the Earth. It’s thick, relatively pure and buried deep, making it one of the best resources of its kind in the American West.

Two companies want to tap the salt dome for compressed air energy storage, an old but rarely used technology that can store large amounts of power.

Compared to that, Energy Vault’s methods look downright simple. Let’s move on now to the Vision Fund and its recent deal flow and performance (both the good and bad), leaving you with the point that Energy Vault is incorrectly named. It should be called “Energy Tower.”

Vision Fund 2

Aside from investing in every late-stage company you can name, is looking to raise more money of its own. The SoftBank Vision Fund II plans to land somewhere around $108 billion, several billion dollars larger than its older sibling.

The pace and size of investments from ���Ǵڳٵ����԰�’s first fund was hard to wrap our heads around — and, apparently, investors struggled as well. Reports in June detailed that the second Vision Fund was having a hard time raising cash to fuel its investing machine. However, a month later, SoftBank said it had landed and on its list of LPs for the second Vision Fund.

It was a welcome boost for SoftBank, as it raises new billions, that its first fund had a good recent quarter. The firm saw liquidity, as well as “unrealized valuation gains” that looked strong. The results weren’t too surprising, considering some of its portfolio companies’ recent successes (think direct listing, fundraising rush, and recent investing news), but they were notable all the same. And while we poke at ���Ǵڳٵ����԰�’s invest-in-everything strategy, keep in mind its numbers showed specific strengths in its enterprise and consumer deals.

When SoftBank does launch its second, gigantic fund, we’ll see a second wave of investments by the behemoth. Despite its string epic check size and deal stamina, the company does have a few investments that could serve as learning lessons for the second fund

Market Wobbles

First up, Uber, a huge Vision Fund investment that had a disappointing start to its life as a public company and still is struggling.

The most recent news from the ride-hailing giant comes from its recent second quarter earnings report. The global transportation company – which SoftBank put billions into, making it – had less revenue than expected and larger losses than anticipated.

Uber must be feeling deflated, to say the least.

SoftBank, in its earnings report, explained that it had an “unrealized loss totaling ¥195,326 million was recorded for the decrease in the fair values of investments in Uber and others.” That means Uber isn’t the only Vision Fund deal that appears weak.

Looking to the future, WeWork, which filed its S-1 publicly yesterday, appears dangerously unprofitable as well (more here). And SoftBank has invested at least $6 billion into the co-working space business over time, and at one point .

But while its Uber bet hasn’t performed well thus far, and the company’s WeWork stake is looking risky, the Vision Fund’s huge (paper) win from its DoorDash bet could allow the investing giant to keep making big bets on unprofitable companies. And, perhaps, cut checks into different sorts of corporate growth risk, deals like this week’s Energy Vault deal.

Energy Jenga!

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This announcement comes days after its Indonesian rival, raised $100 million as part of an ongoing Series F. So far, Go-Jek’s series F is totaling up to $1.2 billion, according to .

In the table below, we show the many tranches of Grab’s Series H round.

According to Grab CEO , Softbank’s involvement will help it give users more choice and convenience, and “enhance income opportunities.”

, a partner at Investment Advisers, says the investment will help Grab pursue “new opportunities across on-demand mobility, delivery and financial services as it continues to grow its offline-to-online platform across Southeast Asia.”

While it started as a ride-hailing company, Grab also grew to include food and parcel delivery, bike and car rentals, and payments. It also from just Singapore to Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Back in December, Crunchbase Reporter Savannah Dowling tracked Grab’s seemingly never-ending Series H. All within the same round, the company got money from a range of companies: automakers like . and . Also involved were big tech players like . Before SoftBank, the company’s most recent infusion of cash came from Yamaha Motor Co. – an investment of $150 million.

Notably, this round will be used to invest more heavily in Indonesia,said. It doesn’t hurt that Grab’s top competitor,is based in Indonesia.  As we’ve reported previously, Go-Jek started off as a motorcycle hailing application and then included services like grocery and pharmacy delivery. Like Grab, it’s expanding in Southeast Asia.

In the meantime, Grab says its Indonesian business revenue more than doubled in 2018.   it holds 60 percent of the two-wheel market and 70 percent of the four-wheel market on Go-Jek’s home turf.

that despite this new cash, the round isn’t over until it says it’s over. So with $4.5 billion and counting, we’ll keep our eyes on Grab (and rival Go-Jek) to see who becomes Southeast Asia’s next “WeChat” first.

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, a freight forwarding and logistics platform, announced yesterday led by (surprise, surprise) , which is backed by government capital from Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, among other sources. The deal reportedly Flexport at $3.2 billion, post-money.

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Existing investors , , , and Chinese express delivery firm also participated in the round. San Francisco-based Flexport was founded in 2013 and has been on a mission to digitally transform the multi-trillion dollar global logistics and freight forwarding sectors, both of which are notoriously fraught with inefficiencies and delays. Prior to this round, the company had raised a total of around .

With this deal, global logistics, supply chain management, and shipping funding (as defined by Crunchbase categories) is on the rise. Including this round from Flexport, over $2.5 billion has been invested in venture rounds raised by logistics, supply chain management, and shipping companies so far in 2019.

In 2018, over $13.38 billion was invested in the space, mostly concentrated in supergiant rounds raised by China-based and , as well as Indonesia-based .

Growth At Flexport

Last year was a good one for the startup.

, Flexport’s CEO and founder, wrote in a yesterday that in 2018 Flexport doubled its top-line revenue to nearly $500 million, upped its headcount to nearly 1,000 employees, and broadened its geographic footprint to 11 offices and warehouses globally. The company has 10,000 customers, according to Petersen.

Flexport, he wrote, is building what he described as an “Operating System for Global Trade,” or “a strategic operating model for global freight forwarding that combines technology and analytics, logistics infrastructure, and hands-on supply chain expertise.” As part of that, it’s looking to hire across the company and not just out of its San Francisco headquarters apparently.

Flexport is a alum and the accelerator is a fan. , Y Combinator co-founder and partner, is quoted on the company’s website as saying that Flexport “is one of those rare companies that will not merely satisfy its market, but grow it. There will be more international trade because of Flexport, and international trade is a very big thing for there to be more of.”

Petersen is not just a funding recipient, he is an investor himself. According to his Crunchbase profile, Petersen has personally invested in more than a dozen including delivery startup and fintech firm, .

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Historically, the sector has been slow to adopt new technologies, as builders rely on a variety of disparate systems to manage projects, traditional building methods to construct homes, and non-smart materials.

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But a wave of startups is looking to capitalize on opportunities within the sector. Companies that have developed software solutions aimed at streamlining processes and increasing efficiencies are increasingly common. Prefab construction has evolved thanks to innovation in that space and 3D printing technology can create homes in a matter of days.

Investors are taking notice. Funding in US-based construction technology startups surged by 324 percent to nearly $3.1 billion in 2018 compared with $731 million in 2017, according to Crunchbase data. While the 2018 numbers are impressive, it’s important to note that a few large rounds did take place last year and thus skewed the results. One startup alone, Menlo Park-based , brought in $865 million from , , and in a Series D round last January. And, smart glass company closed a in November. Also, , a (unicorn) provider of cloud-based construction management applications, in December raised a $75 million Series H round from .

Without those two rounds, the construction tech sector saw just $1.135 billion in funding in 2018, up a more modest 55 percent over 2017’s totals.

The industry continues to see M&A activity. Larger software companies are recognizing that it makes more sense to acquire companies in this space rather than try to reinvent the wheel from within. For example, in the fourth quarter of last year, 3D design software provider announced plans to acquire two cloud-based software startups in the space: for $875 million and for $275 million. Publicly-traded software developer in July construction management software startup for $1.2 billion.

, partner at , is bullish on the sector and expects 2019 will only see more funding and acquisitions. His firm invested in San Francisco-based , which has raised $28.6 million to grow its mobile platform designed for the construction craft workforce. That company, he says, had a “record year” in terms of customers and users.

“2018 was an inflection point for the construction tech industry,” Chen told Crunchbase News. “Major venture investing and strategic M&A by incumbent players continued… and I think you will see other major enterprise software companies begin to invest more in construction in 2019.”

One construction tech startup founder, of Chicago-based , believes that despite the big numbers, the industry has a way to go in terms of true startup growth. Part of that is simply due to one thing: tech founders and some investors are intimidated by the space.

“A lot of people don’t understand it,” he said. “There’s a massive learning curve. Companies have been building buildings the same way for hundreds of years and not everyone understand its complexities.”

The fact that construction is a largely unregulated industry is also a factor, Carter believes.

“Eventually money will flow into the sector because of the pure size of the market,” he told Crunchbase News. “The money is there. There are VCs at every angle wanting to get into this space but they’re looking for the right opportunities. There just aren’t a ton of startups in the space.”

Construction is also a and one has to wonder if a potential economic downturn would give investors pause. But to Carter, a downturn would only create more need for products like the one his company is working to build. IngeniousIO’s platform uses artificial intelligence to redefine the process of construction projects by creating what Carter describes as “a unifying, data-driven approach.”

“Tighter budgets are where a company like ours can do very well,” he said. “Companies wouldn’t have the overhead of outdated apps that take a significant amount of support to manage, scale and implement.”

The construction sector may not have the cache of other more Twitter-friendly markets, but it does have the sheer size and potential to provide ripe soil for investors willing to break ground on new opportunities.

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On Wednesday, (CMT) that it has raised $500 million from the Vision Fund. The company did not disclose information about its valuation.

Typically, the Vision Fund invests in companies with already-sizable VC war chests. Cambridge Mobile Telematics breaks that mold; prior to this cash infusion by the Vision Fund, CMT had raised only one recorded round of prior funding. According to from September 2014, the company had secured at least $2.5 million of a targeted $17.5 million round of funding. were available from the Securities And Exchange Commission. In an unusual move, a representative for the company would not provide further information about its prior funding history.

A statement from CMT said that the new capital will help the company expand its business. DriveWell is CMT’s analytics platform, and as the brand name might telegraph, it’s meant to help people drive better.

Its mobile app scores drivers on safety and has been shown to produce lasting behavior change. The platform’s system of driving feedback, rewards, and peer-to-peer competition reduced phone distraction by an average 35 percent within 30 days, according to a statement from the company. At-risk speeding and hard braking went down by 20 percent, the company says.

Reducing risky behavior has the side benefit of saving money in the long run, which is why CMT licenses its technology and analytics platform to the insurance industry, large fleet managers, as well as “wireless carriers, and other entities,” according to a statement from the company. says it can take a white-labeled app with social leaderboard and driver scoring features to market in less than 90 days. CMT says it has worked with a global base of insurers including State Farm, Liberty Mutual, Desjardins, Discovery, Admiral, AIG, and Insurance Australia Group, among others.

So how does it all work on the back end? According to information on the company’s website, the DriveWell platform consists of three layers. It first ingests raw telematics data streaming off the car’s computer, as well as video data from dash cams. Then, according to CMT, it incorporates and processes this data to “generate accurate metrics and identify roads and road characteristics.” Finally, based on its big dataset of driver behavior, CMT uses machine learning to “infer key contextual and behavioral details or a comprehensive understanding of driver behavior and risk.”

The company discovered that there’s money to make in that last step. Initially founded in 2010 and incubated out of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL), the company launched the first service to gather and process incoming sensor data from phones for auto insurance applications in 2012.1 It added the distraction detection and gasification features over the subsequent two years. Its IoT device, the , was invented in 2014 as a way for fleet managers to get deeper access to driving events data and detect collisions.

CMT is just the latest entry in the SoftBank Vision Fund’s ledger of other data-driven automotive investments. The Vision Fund invested in San Diego-based autonomous navigational technology developer back . Alongside General Motors, SBVF also invested in closed by Cruise Automation in May 2018, the self-driving tech company .

On Thursday, the that the SoftBank Vision Fund led a $385 million funding round raised by , a car leasing company.

Although Cambridge Mobile Technologies doesn’t mention self-driving or autonomous vehicles on its website, its data could be beneficial to developers of the next generation of autonomous vehicle technologies. But in the meantime, before AI is in full control of the in-car experience, it can serve as a backseat driver.

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Coupang, which was founded in 2010 by Harvard business grad , has raised a known total of from its investors including a from Softbank in 2015. The company is now valued at $9 billion, post-money.

Lately, it feels like we wake up every morning to a new Softbank Vision Fund investment. Just last week announced a from the Vision Fund, and at the beginning of the month, food robotics company scored a $375 million investment. It’s hard to keep track of where the gargantuan group has placed its bets over the past year, so Crunchbase News decided to break it down. Take a look:

The fund, which invests with checks of $100 million or more, has partially fueled Crunchbase News’s obsession with supergiant rounds. And its effect on valuations is clear, of the companies listed above, 13 received the Vision Fund investment at pre-money valuations of more than $1.4 billion. Its giant war chest of capital, which includes some questionable support from Saudi Arabia, has the potential to affect competition in markets all over the world, including India and in China, where capital-intensive growth strategies are the name of the game.

We’ll keep updating this chart as the vision fund continues to put its money to work.

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