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© 2021 SB Investment Advisers

Jon Hong


Director, Americas

Region01

  • Americas

Companies05

  • Flock Freight*
  • Getaround
  • GoBrands
  • REEF
  • ShipBob

Insights 05

01 –

Your focus areas are mobility, logistics, media, and gaming. How are those all connected to each other?

At first glance these areas seem unrelated, but they actually overlap in interesting ways. For example, video game engines are incredibly sophisticated and can now produce environments that are almost indistinguishable from reality. While this makes for thrilling game play, applied differently, video game engines can help train autonomous driving algorithms, which is a key area of focus for us. This type of convergence across sectors is what makes my work so exciting.

02 –

How do you describe your role here?

What we’re doing is unique within the capital markets. The Vision Fund is providing support for entrepreneurs who we believe are building some of the most disruptive and audacious businesses in the world. My job is to partner with these founders to help them fully utilize SoftBank Investment Advisers’ diverse resources and more quickly achieve their goals.

03 –

What are you looking for in terms of impact?

Change often comes from the most surprising places, ones that are sort of staid and forgotten, like car rentals or parking. People ask, where’s the room for innovation there? It turns out, there can be quite a bit. Parking, for example, can become a lynchpin of the on-demand economy. So when we partner with founders in that area, we are inspired by the potential to help them revolutionize their industry. It's about understanding how the pieces of the puzzle fit together and seeing the big picture.

We don't think solely in terms of stand-alone investments. We're always asking how a founder and company will play across our ecosystem.

04 –

How do you support that complete puzzle?

That's where our ecosystem comes in. We don't think solely in terms of stand-alone investments. We're always asking how a founder and company will play across our ecosystem—what mutual benefits do they bring across the portfolio? So, does a parking company bring something interesting to a carshare or ride-hailing service? Can it enhance our food-delivery partners? It’s about more than bringing capital into the equation. Our connections and their amplifying effect get to the heart of what we're doing here.

05 –

What first drew you to this line of work?

I’ve been around technology, investing, and entrepreneurship since I was young. My grandfather was a Chinese restaurant entrepreneur in Utah; his experience showed me that a strong vision, passion, and hard work can lead to success, even if what you’re doing is different and unfamiliar. Similarly, my mother worked for companies in the semiconductor, software, and internet spaces and spurred my fascination with technology when she bought me my first computer, a Gateway 486DX2. On that same computer, she showed me how to invest in technology stocks in the late ’90s, which paid for my college education. It’s these formative experiences that make what we do feel so natural and exciting to me.

Next Profile

Anna Lo


Director, Asia

SoftBank Vision Fund
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Pleasanton, United States

10x Genomics is paving the way for a new understanding of biology, human health, and disease.

Hangzhou, China

Alibaba Local Services is redefining urban lifestyle and bringing greater joy and convenience to consumers.

San Francisco, United States of America

Alto is building the world's most patient-centric pharmacy.

Cambridge, United Kingdom

Arm is enabling a world of a trillion connected devices.

Berlin, Germany

Auto1 is making it fast and efficient to buy and sell used cars.

San Jose, United States

Automation Anywhere is making work more human by automating business processes and liberating people.

New York, United States of America

Behavox is using AI to help businesses uncover and address hidden regulatory risks.

, China

Beike is a leading integrated online and offline platform for housing transactions and services.

Boston, United States of America

Biofourmis is using data and machine learning to help clinicians predict and prevent serious medical events.

San Diego, United States

Brain Corp is developing an AI platform that transforms everyday machines into robotic solutions.

Beijing, China

ByteDance is enabling people to discover and create a world of content powered by technology.

Kansas City, United States

C2FO is working to deliver a future where every company in the world has the capital they need to grow.

Cambridge, United States

Cambridge Mobile Telematics is making the world’s roads safer.

Beijing, China

CloudMinds is operating smart robots for people.

Los Angeles, United States

Clutter is changing the way people store and manage their physical belongings.

San Jose, United States

Cohesity is radically simplifying secondary data and applications.

San Francisco, United States

Collective Health is making it effortless to navigate, understand, and pay for healthcare.

New York, United States

Compass is building the real estate industry's first-ever end-to-end platform.

Seoul, South Korea

Coupang is transforming e-commerce end-to-end.

São Paulo, Brazil

Creditas is aiming to use data and technology to reinvent secured lending in Brazil.

Gurgaon, India

Delhivery is disrupting the supply chain across India one shipment at a time.

Beijing, China

DiDi is building a better journey for the world.

San Francisco, United States

DoorDash is connecting people with the best in their cities.

San Francisco, United States of America

Encoded Therapeutics is advancing life-changing therapies through precision medicine

Lugano, Switzerland

Energy Vault is transforming energy storage technology by enabling renewables to deliver around-the-clock power.

Los Angeles, United States

Fair is using technology to bring freedom and flexibility to car ownership.

Jacksonville, United States

Fanatics is changing the way fans purchase their favorite team apparel.

Pune, India

FirstCry is striving to build the world’s largest content and community platform to make parenting easier.

San Francisco, United States

Flexport is using technology and data to make global trade easier and more accessible for everyone.

Bengaluru, India

Flipkart is bringing more than 30 million products to Indian consumers via its e-commerce marketplace.

San Diego, United States of America

Flock Freight is using proprietary algorithms to optimize transit routes and pool multiple shipments together into one full truckload.

Shanghai, China

Full Truck Alliance is building China's largest road logistics ecosystem for shippers and truckers.

Santa Clara, United States

Fungible is aiming to revolutionize the performance, reliability and economics of data centers at all scales.

San Francisco, United States

Getaround is empowering people to rent great cars from people nearby.

Berlin, Germany

GetYourGuide is a platform to book incredible experiences.

Menlo Park, United States

Globality is using AI to revolutionize the way companies buy and sell services.

San Francisco, United States

Cruise is seeking to build the world’s most advanced self-driving vehicles.

Philadelphia, United States of America

GoPuff is becoming the go-to solution for immediate, everyday needs.

Singapore, Singapore

Grab is driving Southeast Asia forward by improving quality of life for everyone.

London, United Kingdom

Greensill is changing finance to change the world.

Gurugram, India

Grofers is delivering groceries and other essentials to their customers' doorsteps.

Redwood City, United States

Guardant Health is using data to conquer cancer.

Beijing, China

Guazi is seamlessly linking car buyers and sellers across China.

São Paulo, Brazil

Gympass is defeating inactivity through its corporate fitness platform.

London, United Kingdom

Improbable is enabling developers to create richer, more immersive and persistent virtual worlds.

Atlanta, United States

Kabbage is empowering small businesses through straightforward, flexible access to capital.

,

Karius is using genomics and AI to advance infectious disease diagnostics.

Menlo Park, United States

Katerra is optimizing every aspect of building design and manufacturing, materials supply, logistics, and construction.

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Klook is connecting the best of what a destination has to offer with travelers worldwide.

, India

Lenskart is giving millions of people access to quality, affordable eyewear online, in store and at home.

Palo Alto, United States

Light is pioneering the era of the software-defined camera.

São Paulo, Brazil

Loggi is using technology to connect Brazil and reinvent logistics.

Washington D.C., United States

MapBox is changing the way people explore our world.

Berkeley, United States

Memphis Meats is reimagining how meat is made by harvesting it from cells instead of animals.

San Francisco, United States of America

MindTickle is developing winning sales teams by accelerating ramp time and improving performance using data-driven insights.

Palo Alto, United States

Nauto is using AI to make driving safer and smarter.

Mountain View, United States

Nuro is delivering the future of local commerce autonomously.

Santa Clara, United States

Nvidia is igniting modern AI to power the next era of computing.

London, United Kingdom

OakNorth is transforming commercial lending through big data and machine learning.

Bengaluru, India

Ola is on a mission to build mobility for a billion people.

Shanghai, China

OneConnect is making finance easier for small and medium-sized financial institutions.

San Francisco, United States

Opendoor is reinventing the way people buy and sell their homes.

Los Angeles, United States of America

Ordermark is helping restaurants and virtual kitchens increase efficiency.

San Leandro, United States

OSIsoft is helping people transform their world through data.

Haryana, India

Oyo is delivering predictable, affordable, and quality accommodation experiences to travelers around the world.

New Delhi, India

Paytm is working to bring banking and financial services to half-a-billion un-served and under-served Indians.

Boston, United States

Pear is transforming medicine by treating patients with software-based therapeutics.

Pittsburgh, United States

Petuum is industrializing AI technology and transforming enterprises across all industries.

Shanghai, China

Ping An Good Doctor is building a comprehensive, one-stop healthcare ecosystem platform.

Shanghai, China

Ping An HealthKonnect is building a tech-enabled managed care platform for providers of insurance and medical services.

San Francisco, United States

Plenty is sustainably growing flavorful, fresh, and clean produce with its patented vertical-farming technology.

New Delhi, India

Policybazaar is making insurance in India fair, transparent and sustainable.

Bogota, Colombia

Rappi is a super app for Latin America that delivers virtually everything.

Miami, United States

REEF is creating urban mobility hubs for the on-demand world.

Cambridge, United States

Relay Therapeutics is building the first dedicated drug discovery pipeline centered on protein motion.

New York, United States

Roivant is rapidly developing innovative medicines through a novel form of industrial organization in R&D.

Redwood City, US

Seer is developing the tools researchers need to discover and understand the proteome.

Chicago, United States of America

ShipBob is providing global fulfillment so e-commerce brands can focus on growing their sales.

San Francisco, United States

Slack is bringing the right people together with all the right information.

San Francisco, United States

Standard is transforming existing retail stores into checkout-free experiences by using computer vision and AI.

Cambridge, United States

Tessera Therapeutics is pioneering Gene Writing, a new category of genetic medicine.

, Germany

TIER is rethinking urban transportation by offering easily accessible and affordable mobility services.

Jakarta, Indonesia

Tokopedia is democratizing commerce through technology.

San Francisco, United States

Uber is igniting opportunity by setting the world in motion.

Pittsburgh, United States

Uber ATG is transforming the way the world moves through the development of safe self-driving vehicle technologies.

Bengaluru, India

Unacademy is empowering the world’s youth through online lessons and specialized courses.

Mountain View, United States

View is making dynamic glass windows that enhance human health, increase productivity and save energy.

Guangzhou City, China

VIPThink is providing early childhood education through its innovative online learning platform.

San Francisco, United States

Vir is integrating breakthroughs in science, technology, and medicine to transform the treatment of infectious diseases.

Hanoi, Vietnam

VNLIFE is transforming lives by simplifying mobile payments.

New York, United States

WeWork is creating a world where people work to make a life, not just a living.

Boston, United States of America

Whoop is unlocking human performance.

Guangzhou City, China

XAG is scaling up agricultural production by integrating AI, drones and other innovative technologies into farming.

Shenzhen, China

XtalPi is transforming drug discovery and development through quantum physics, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing.

Shanghai, China

Zhangmen offers personalized one-on-one tutoring online to students across China.

Shanghai, China

ZhongAn Insurance is applying technology to upgrade the insurance value chain.

, China

Ziroom is modernizing apartment rentals to create a better living experience.

Mountain View, United States

Zume is creating a smarter and more sustainable food system.

, China

Zuoyebang is educating students across China through its mobile study platform.

Emeryville, United States

Zymergen is using biology as a source of new chemical building blocks to commercialize novel products and materials.

© 2021 SoftBank Investment Advisers
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