Information and communication technologies (ICT) cover a broad list of products and services that will continue to grow. With social change and economic changes in society, ICT has a major role to play. An increasing portion of the total investment has been represented by ICT investment. The share of ICT investment in all industries is increasing.

SoftBank Ventures Asia is SoftBank Group's only world-wide early-stage venture arm. ICT investments are their focus. The company invests in start-ups with a high potential in Asia, the U.S., Israel, and the EU. The major investment candidates for SoftBank are start-ups for the ICT sector, including AI, IoT, and smart robotics, at an early stage of growth. In addition, they are investing in companies that aim to move towards the world market and companies that make the world a better place through digital information revolutions.

SoftBank supports its portfolios by leveraging 1,300 global SoftBank networks, including ARM, nVidia, Yahoo Japan, Alibaba, WeWork China, and Tokopedia. Asia is a global partner. They also support partnership and cooperation between the various companies of the SoftBank Group including the Vision Fund and provide talented human resources. It promotes start-ups that are pioneering world markets. They also encourage the expansion of the international market, a joint venture, sales promotion abroad and the M&A processes of startups, thanks to SoftBank's extensive business experience and resources.

Early-stage investment vehicle of SoftBank recently recruited a CFO. The new CFO Seung Lee will manage global funds and the SoftBank Ventures Asia limited partners. He shall also supervise global offices’ financial activities, such as Beijing, Singapore, and Silicon Valley.

Lee has been working for more than 15 years in Morgan Stanley, Hong Kong and the Seoul office with extensive experience in consulting on mergers and acquisitions and capitalization for major companies. Before joining SoftBank Ventures Asia, he also owned a start-up. He graduated from Yale University and completed his Masters of the University of Stanford.

SoftBank offers different forms of help to investors who have become part of the SoftBank community. They organize workshops and networking events to transmit the accumulated knowledge and experience. Now, the company has a network of 500 founders. An important part of SoftBank has been a culture of helpfulness, which was supported from the outset. If a business ever faces a challenge, the founders know that they not only have the partners at their disposal, they also have 500 field experts.