SoftBank, under the leadership of Masayoshi Son, was once one of the most enthusiastic backers of India’s startup ecosystem. Between the mid-2010s and early 2020s, the Japanese conglomerate poured billions into high-profile Indian companies, including Flipkart, Ola, OYO, Paytm, Policybazaar, Swiggy, and others. Estimates of total investment in India range from $10 billion to over $14 billion across dozens of deals, fueling the country’s unicorn boom.
However, that era of blanket enthusiasm has clearly ended. Since around 2023, SoftBank has made virtually no new investments in Indian startups. Activity in 2023 and 2024 was minimal, with only limited follow-on funding in select portfolio companies. While there have been signals of renewed selective interest in 2026—particularly in AI, cloud, and enterprise tech—the firm has shifted its focus heavily toward exits.
As of late 2025, SoftBank had realized approximately $7.4 billion in proceeds from Indian investments through IPOs, secondary sales, founder buybacks, and block trades. Its remaining India portfolio was valued at around $13.7 billion. Several full or partial exits were executed, including from Paytm, Policybazaar, Zomato, Flipkart, Ola Electric, Lenskart, and InMobi.
Underwhelming Returns and Portfolio Realities
Many of SoftBank’s high-profile Indian bets delivered mixed or disappointing results relative to the capital deployed and the hype at the time of investment. Cases like Paytm resulted in losses (reported around 12-35% on certain tranches), while others such as Ola Electric saw significant markdowns and ongoing challenges. Even where exits generated cash—through public listings or secondary deals—overall returns for the Vision Funds have often fallen short of expectations.
Analysts point to structural limitations in the Indian market. The addressable base for many consumer-tech models proved narrower than anticipated, with sustainable high-paying users estimated in the range of 15-20 million rather than the broader “hundreds of millions” narrative. No Indian startup has yet achieved the $100 billion+ sustained valuations seen in some global peers. Intense competition in sectors like e-commerce, food delivery, and mobility has also pressured unit economics and profitability.
Governance Issues and Execution Challenges
Another factor has been governance and execution hurdles within parts of the ecosystem. Reports have highlighted instances where founders prioritized personal liquidity events (such as secondary sales) over long-term sustainability, alongside concerns over cost structures and occasional revenue or compliance issues. SoftBank’s own early approach—large, founder-friendly cheques with limited operational oversight—sometimes contributed to these dynamics rather than mitigating them.
The post-2021 funding winter further exposed these weaknesses, forcing a broader industry shift toward profitability, cost discipline, and regulatory scrutiny (especially in fintech). SoftBank, like several other global investors, recalibrated its expectations accordingly.
Strategic Pivot to AI and Capital Reallocation
The most significant driver of the change is SoftBank’s aggressive pivot toward artificial intelligence. Masayoshi Son has committed massive resources to AI infrastructure, including large stakes and funding for OpenAI, data centers (such as the Stargate project), semiconductor plays (Ampere, Arm ecosystem), and related hardware and robotics initiatives. These bets are concentrated primarily in the United States and a few global leaders.
Indian startups, while strong in application-layer services, software services, and some enterprise tech, have not featured prominently in the “foundation model” or large-scale AI infrastructure opportunities that now dominate SoftBank’s thesis. With finite capital being recycled aggressively toward higher-conviction global AI themes, India has received less attention.
Vision Fund leadership has also become more disciplined overall, emphasizing fewer, more selective deals with greater operator involvement where investments do occur. Layoffs within the Vision Fund team and a focus on monetizing existing holdings have supported this shift.
Not a Full Withdrawal
SoftBank executives, including Sumer Juneja (Managing Partner and Head of EMEA & India), have pushed back against narratives of complete disengagement. Juneja has stated that the firm “doesn’t want to be out of the game” and sees a improving pipeline for targeted opportunities in India, potentially resuming more activity from 2026 onward—albeit with smaller, sharper cheques in areas like AI and enterprise technology.
Potential upcoming IPOs for companies such as OYO, Meesho, or others could still deliver upside for remaining holdings. Some Indian investments, like certain stakes in Swiggy or others, have contributed positively to recent Vision Fund performance.
A Matured Ecosystem
In summary, SoftBank’s reduced enthusiasm for India is less about “disliking” the market and more about a pragmatic reassessment of risk-reward. The Indian startup landscape has matured from the hyper-growth, unicorn-chasing phase—where SoftBank’s big-cheque style thrived—into a more measured environment focused on sustainable businesses and profitability.
This recalibration mirrors broader caution among global investors after the 2021 boom. While India remains an important part of SoftBank’s historical portfolio, it no longer commands the same priority amid the firm’s global AI ambitions and lessons from past deployments. The coming years may see more selective re-engagement, but the free-flowing capital era of the past is unlikely to return.
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