SoftBank's Masayoshi Son explains how all those deals fit together

Son outlines the strategy behind those deals and the company's planned $100 billion technology fund

Masayoshi Son has had a busy year even by the standards of Japan’s most prolific investor. On Thursday in Tokyo, he took time to explain how it all fits together.

In the past six months, SoftBank Group has invested in businesses ranging from ride sharing, co-working and robotics to agriculture, cancer detection and autonomous driving. The 59-year-old took the stage at SoftBank World, the company’s annual two-day event for customers and suppliers, to outline the strategy behind those deals and the company’s planned $100 billion technology fund.

In the span of two and a half hours, Son painted a picture of the future where satellite networks cover every inch of the Earth and a trillion devices connected to the internet disgorge data into the cloud where it is analysed by artificial intelligence. SoftBank and its companies will be there at every step of the way, the billionaire said.

“I’m so excited,” said Son, SoftBank’s founder and chief executive officer, dressed in a dark jacket and striped, open-collar shirt. “It really feels like sleeping is a waste of time.”

SoftBank Vision Fund has already raised more than $93 billion in total commitments from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, Apple and other large institutional backers, while SoftBank itself is contributing $28 billion. The fund will invest in cutting edge technologies from virtual reality to autonomous driving and the Internet of Things.