Jason Park

I’ve always been driven by a hunger for new experiences and opportunities. As a college freshman, I was one of the early employees at a startup, which later became the largest online education company in South Korea. And after graduation I co-founded another startup, which was sold to South Korea’s largest retailer. Then, I worked at two different conglomerates—LG and SK—as a technology strategist since 2010. In those roles, I was exposed to developments that were groundbreaking research topics at the time, but are available in the market today: deep learning frameworks, EV batteries, neural processing units, next generation wireless technologies, and quantum computing. It was like looking into a crystal ball and catching a glimpse of the future of the market. That kickstarted my desire to be at the forefront of investing in new technologies, which is what ultimately led me to SoftBank.

Everyone in this industry has a different perspective on time horizons. Masa talks about planning for the next 300 years. I’ve never heard anyone else speak about the future in that way. But it makes sense, because tech requires long-term thinking. I’m always focused on the future, and I know firsthand how long it can take to translate scientific research into commercial products, so that approach really resonated with me.

My focus is primarily Southeast Asia and South Korea. About 10% of the global population lives in those regions, which means every new technology has the potential to affect a huge number of people. It’s also an incredibly diverse area in terms of language, religion, and culture, so it’s not easy to scale from one area to another. The things that work in Indonesia, with its 40 languages and thousands of islands, are very different from what succeeds in an isolated market like South Korea. Because of this, global penetration isn’t easy. Local players tend to dominate, and companies like Amazon have a relatively small market share. These local players function by increasing average revenue per user by becoming a super app, not by adding more users the way a global company might.

Another challenge is competition with local conglomerates. Many e-commerce startups in the region are struggling to compete with a few local conglomerates. However, I'm convinced that AI will create an ample additional profit margin pool across industries and that will garner strong growth opportunities for new startups, as is happening today.

Since long-term thinking is important to me, I admire founders who plan far into the future. I like to see curiosity and a desire to constantly learn—from their peers, from their investors, and, most importantly, from their failures. That shows they’re concerned about the future, and almost obsessed with not falling behind. When I work with our portfolio founders, I get the sense that they’re looking to build something that will stand for multiple generations.

I determine my success based on whether my founders see me as instrumental to their success. Investing is such a broad field and can encompass so much. But in my opinion, success boils down to how you help your founders build the technologies that will usher in a better future.