SoftBank Cuts 20% of Vision Fund Staff to Chase $500B AI ‘Stargate’

SoftBank Group is cutting nearly 20% of its Vision Fund staff worldwide as the Japanese giant pivots its entire operation toward founder Masayoshi Son’s aggressive new artificial intelligence strategy.

The move effectively dismantles the legacy venture capital team to free up cash for Son’s “bold AI bets,” including a massive U.S. infrastructure plan dubbed “Stargate.” The cuts were first reported by Reuters.

Key Facts

• The Cut: Approximately 60 employees out of a 300-person global team (20%).
• The Pivot: Resources are moving to capital-heavy AI projects like data centers and chip manufacturing.
• The Irony: Layoffs arrive just one month after the fund posted its best quarterly results since 2021.
• Source: Reuters, People Matters

Funding ‘Stargate’

This isn’t just about saving money. It is about changing what SoftBank actually does. The company is moving away from the scattershot startup investing that defined its past (and led to disasters like WeWork). Instead, Son is betting the house on the hardware that powers AI.

According to reports from People Matters, the cuts coincide with Son’s push for the “Stargate” project—a proposed $500 billion network of AI data centers in the U.S. built in partnership with OpenAI. To back this up, Vision Fund 2 has already poured $9.7 billion into OpenAI over the last year.

Profits Won’t Save Jobs

For employees, the timing is brutal. The Vision Fund just reported its strongest quarter in three years, thanks to booming stock prices for holdings like Nvidia and Coupang. Usually, profits mean job security. Not here.

Management confirmed the decision is strategic, not financial desperate measures. A spokesperson stated the company must “adjust the organization” to make “bold, high-conviction investments in AI.” Translation: The old jobs don’t fit the new mission.

The New Playbook

SoftBank is done with small bets. The company is aggressively buying into the “infrastructure layer” of AI. Alongside the layoffs, SoftBank has acquired chipmakers Graphcore and Ampere Computing. The message is clear: If you aren’t building chips or data centers, SoftBank doesn’t have a desk for you anymore.