Outlook Business Desk
SoftBank Group Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son visited India for two days, where he held meetings with significant people including Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the founders of several SoftBank-backed companies, including Paytm, Meesho, OYO, Ola, Flipkart, and Unacademy
Son views India as having significant potential in chip design, driven by geopolitical shifts, particularly the ongoing "de-coupling" from other regions. He highlighted India's vast engineering talent pool, which he believes is the largest in the world
Over the past decade, SoftBank has invested $15 billion in India, and Son indicated that future investments are likely to surpass this amount as the country plays an increasingly important role in the global tech landscape
Son emphasized that chip design will play a critical role in the growth of the AI economy. He urged founders to prioritize the development of businesses centered around artificial intelligence, recognizing its transformative potential
Son advised founders to adopt an exponential mindset, rather than a linear one, recognizing that AI evolves in a non-linear fashion. He projected that global capital expenditure for AI will reach between $9-10 trillion. Additionally, he stressed the importance of a long-term perspective, urging founders to plan for AI development over the next 10 years, warning that focusing on short-term goals (2-3 years) would likely lead to failure
Son held individual meetings with several founders, including Naveen Tewari, CEO of InMobi, to explore potential collaborations in the fields of consumer technology and artificial intelligence
Over the years, SoftBank has invested in major Indian companies like Flipkart, Ola, Paytm, Delhivery, FirstCry, and Swiggy
Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO of Ola, took to X to share his excitement about the energizing discussions with Son on topics such as AI, AGI, energy, and India's future in technology, highlighting the importance of collaboration for driving future growth