Can Masa Son Outshine SPAC Superstar Chamath Palihapitiya?
Softbank’s founder used to reign as the king of venture capitalists. Now he is being eclipsed by the likes of the former Facebook exec.
The worst seems to be behind SoftBank Group Corp. Its stock price has surpassed its dot-com peak, thanks in part to aggressive share buybacks and the successful initial public offerings of its unicorns, such as food delivery startup DoorDash Inc.
But founder Masayoshi Son’s star power is waning. SoftBank managed to raise only $600 million last year in the U.S. SPAC boom. Its third blank check outing has a goal of only $280 million. In comparison, Chamath Palihapitiya, a former Facebook Inc. executive, venture capitalist, and social influencer, raised $2.1 billion in one October day alone. He’s the new superstar on the block.