ANTI-DESPACITO: SoftBank Vision Fund Backing AI and Farming Startup Plenty
Posted on 07/20/2017
The SoftBank Vision Fund continues to back just about every major startup in the AI space. The fund recently backed San Diego-based Brain Corporation. SoftBank then co-led a US$ 159 million Series B round with Greylock Partners in Palo Alto-based Nauto, Inc., a developer of autonomous vehicle technologies.
The SoftBank Vision Fund is leading another US$ 200 million Series B round. This time in South San Francisco-based Plenty Inc., an indoor vertical farming startup. Other investors in the round include Jeff Bezos’ Bezos Expeditions, Eric Schmidt’s Innovation Endeavors, Kirenaga Partners, DCM, Data Collective and Finistere Ventures. The Vision Fund has sovereign wealth backers from the Middle East, where food is a big deal.
May – July VC Deals by SoftBank
Period | Target Company | Lead Investor | Series Round |
---|---|---|---|
July 2017 | Nauto, Inc. | Yes | B |
July 2017 | Plenty Inc. | Yes | B |
July 2017 | Brain Corporation | Yes | C |
Jun 2017 | Cybereason Inc. | Yes | D |
May 2017 | 99 | Yes | C |
May 2017 | Guardant Health | Yes | E |
May 2017 | Improbable Worlds Ltd. | Yes | B |
May 2017 | OSIsoft, LLC | Yes | Private Equity |
May 2017 | One97 Communications | Yes | Unknown |
Keywords: SoftBank Group Corporation.
- Agriculture
- AI
- Alternatives
- driverless cars
- farming
- Nauto
- Plenty
- SoftBank Group
- SoftBank Vision Fund
- Venture Capital