Robert Kaplan has been promoted to partner of Americas at SoftBank Investment Advisers, Japanese telecommunications and internet conglomerate SoftBank’s UK-based investment subsidiary that runs its Vision Funds.
At Softbank Investment Advisers, Kaplan helped Vision Funds invest in consumer and commerce technology developers, including blockchain application development platform Aleo, ecommerce package delivery service Veho and Labelbox, which provides artificial intelligence training technology.
Kaplan joined Softbank Investment Advisers as a director in 2021 after working at B Capital Group, a venture capital firm backed by professional services firm Boston Consulting Group, for more than three years as an ecommerce and enterprise software-focused principal.
SoftBank launched its first Vision Fund in 2017 with $98.6bn in capital, having secured commitments from Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds. However, its $30bn second iteration, formed in 2019, counts the corporate as its sole limited partner.
The Vision Funds recorded an investment loss of $5.5bn in the final quarter of 2022. Nagraj Kashyap left his managing partner role at Softbank Investment Advisers in February this year, after a series of people departed, including Saurabh Jalan, Catherine Lenson and Vishal Gupta.
