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© 2021 SB Investment Advisers

Lydia Jett


Partner, Americas

Overview

Prior to joining SBIA, Lydia was with SoftBank Group Corp International (SBGI) where she led investments in Guardant Health and 10X Genomics. Lydia was also previously a Vice President at M/C Partners, a growth equity firm, and an Associate at Goldman Sachs in the Principal Investment Area where she invested across the media and technology sectors. She started her career at JP Morgan. Lydia is a graduate of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, the London School of Economics, and Smith College.

Region01

  • Americas

Companies06

  • Coupang
  • Fair
  • Fanatics
  • Flipkart
  • Klook
  • Tokopedia

Insights 05

01 –

What's the most exciting aspect of your work?

My role at SoftBank Investment Advisers provides an incredible learning opportunity. We are among the most active investors in the sectors where I focus—e-commerce as well as fintech and robotics—and we have a global mandate. That means our team can see how very similar-looking companies and business models evolve in extremely different ways based on their respective markets. We try to bridge learnings across these companies, which strengthens all of them. And on a personal level, it's just fascinating to watch economies, populations, and countries develop and to look for ways to help accelerate that development.

02 –

How is e-commerce changing local economies?

Many of the e-commerce founders we work with are fundamentally reshaping how the populations of their countries consume, and how small businesses form to serve them. These entrepreneurs are creating platforms that are bringing a significant amount of customers' disposable income online. They are also creating income opportunities for local artisans who have been isolated from the national or international market. One of the founders we work with in Asia created a platform that has enabled the launch of over 100,000 small-to-micro businesses. That’s incredibly exciting from an economic-development standpoint. And by changing the way merchants collect payments, our portfolio companies are changing how people access goods and services, which has lasting consequences for people's expectations in other aspects of their lives and opens up a substantial opportunity for innovation in the market.

03 –

What do you bring to your work with founders?

I believe SoftBank Investment Advisers, driven by Masayoshi Son, shares a strong commitment to aggressive, expansionary thinking, and that gives us a unique alignment with our founders. We have the ability to see a broad landscape, across business models and geographies. It’s our responsibility to bring those learnings, connections, and support back to our portfolio companies to help them execute toward an even larger vision than they could on their own.

Our founders are going to keep pushing forward until they find something big that really opens up new possibilities in the market.

04 –

What do you look for in a founder?

I look for intellectual honesty and the ability to deeply understand and simply explain the details of how their business works. When they start with that curiosity and open-mindedness, they're not going to settle for small answers. Our founders are going to keep pushing forward until they find something big that really opens up new possibilities in the market.

05 –

What principles guide your work?

I believe in listening first, direct dialogue, and diving deep to understand the key issues each company is facing so that I can effectively point the firm’s resources toward the right problems. I also believe in building a relationship of trust so that founders know that I am their advocate and will be their partner, working through problems big and small.

Separately, a passion project for me is empowering women in technology and investing. To me, as a graduate of a women’s college, the slow rate of progress over my 17 years in investment firms—where I have typically been among the most senior women—has been surprising. Innovation is no less important here than in our other areas of focus!

Next Profile

Faisal Rehman


Managing Partner, EMEA

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 using technology to architect a smarter world.

Berlin, Germany

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

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 intelligent, autonomous navigation systems for everyday machines.

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.

San Jose, United States

Cohesity is radically simplifying how organizations manage their data.

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. | NYSE: COMP

Seoul, South Korea

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

São Paulo, Brazil

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

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.

Beijing, China

DiDi Autonomous is bringing safer and more efficient commercial autonomous fleets to the world’s largest cities.

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.

London, United Kingdom

eToro is connecting users to global markets and to each other so that everyone can invest in a simple and transparent way.

Los Angeles, United States

Fair is revolutionizing the car-as-a-service concept.

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 community and e-commerce platform for parents.

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 carshare everywhere.

Berlin, Germany

GetYourGuide is connecting travelers to incredible experiences wherever they are.

Menlo Park, United States

Globality is revolutionizing how companies find and select service suppliers.

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 connecting millions of consumers to millions of drivers, merchants, and businesses in Southeast Asia.

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 making it easier for more people to create extraordinary multiplayer games.

Madrid, Spain

Jobandtalent is changing the global marketplace for temporary work, improving job security and supporting a more engaged workforce.

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 enabling machines to navigate their environment accurately and safely.

São Paulo, Brazil

Loggi is using technology to connect Brazil and reinvent logistics.

Washington D.C., United States

MapBox is using precise location data to change the way we navigate the 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 enabling successful sales team through its sales readiness platform.

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 half a billion Indians into the mainstream economy through payments, commerce, and financial services.

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 growing flavorful, healthy, and fresh produce through its vertical farming technology

New Delhi, India

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

Provo, United States

Qualtrics is changing the way organizations manage and improve the four core experiences of business — customer, employee, product, and brand.

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 transforming the drug discovery process with unparalleled insights into 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 business.

San Francisco, United States

Slack is bringing the right people, information, and tools together to get work done.

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.

, United States

Aurora is delivering the benefits of self-driving technology safely, quickly, and broadly.

Bengaluru, India

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

Mountain View, United States

View is transforming real estate through 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.

San Diego, United States

Vividion Therapeutics is utilizing its novel discovery technologies to unlock undruggable targets for oncology and immune disorders.

Hanoi, Vietnam

VNLIFE is transforming lives by simplifying mobile payments.

New York, United States

WeWork is revolutionizing the way people and companies work.

Boston, United States of America

Whoop is unlocking human performance.

Guangzhou City, China

XAG is scaling agriculture production by integrating AI and drones into farming practices.

Shenzhen, China

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

Shanghai, China

Zhangmen is personalizing one-on-one online tutoring for 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 developing smarter and more sustainable food service and healthcare systems.

, 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 SB Investment Advisers (UK) Limited
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