China’s Keenon Robotics taps Singapore as launchpad
SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - Shanghai-based Keenon Robotics is turning to Singapore to kick off its international ambitions, with the help of its latest investor, SoftBank's Vision Fund 2, and the Japanese conglomerate's robotics arm. On Tuesday, Keenon entered a partnership with SoftBank Robotics to launch its delivery robot, called the Keenbot, in Singapore and Japan. Following this, the Chinese start-up plans to expand to Europe, the Middle East and the United States, it announced at a press event. "In the next two to three years, Keenon aspires to be a world leader in this field. Also, we are witnessing a milestone in the commercial robotics industry, whereby we will be seeing a lot of such usage in our daily lives," said its founder Tony Li, who spoke at the event over a video call. The announcement comes about a week after Keenon announced that it had raised US$200 million (S$271 million) in Series D funding, led by the SoftBank Vision Fund 2. Founded in 2010, Keenon says that it is one of the largest players in China's mobile robotics market, serving the food and beverage (F&B), hospitality and medical sectors, among others. SoftBank Robotics is integrating its cloud sys...
WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann nears settlement with SoftBank: Source
BENGALURU (REUTERS) - WeWork co-founder and former chief executive Adam Neumann is nearing a settlement with SoftBank Group that could include a nearly US$500 million (S$660.8 million) cut in his payout from the office space-sharing company's new owner, according to a person familiar with the matter. The settlement would put to rest a prolonged legal battle between Neumann and Softbank, which dates back to 2019 when WeWork's IPO plans fell apart. It would also clear the decks for WeWork as it pursues a talks to go public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). SoftBank had agreed in October 2019 to purchase around US$3 billion in WeWork stock belonging to Mr Neumann as well current and former WeWork employees. SoftBank later contested its obligation to purchase the shares. Under the new proposed terms, SoftBank would purchase around half the shares it had originally agreed to buy, the source said, requesting anonymity as the matter is private. SoftBank declined to comment. WeWork was not immediately available for comment. The talks were reported earlier by the Wall Street Journal. SoftBank, which poured more than US$13.5 billion into WeWork, was pulled i...
SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son poised for another IPO windfall in 2021
TOKYO (BLOOMBERG) - SoftBank Group Corp is preparing to take at least six more of its portfolio companies public this year, building on a 2020 turnaround that pushed the value of Masayoshi Son's technology conglomerate to the highest since the dot-com boom. Among the start-ups heading for initial public offerings are South Korean e-commerce pioneer Coupang Corp, Indonesian online mall operator PT Tokopedia and China's ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing, according to people familiar with the matter, asking not to be named because the matter is private. The IPOs could give Son another round of enormous gains after successful offerings from DoorDash and KE Holdings in 2020. Mr Son started last year under a cloud after the meltdown at WeWork, then saw his shares plunge with the coronavirus pandemic and a loss of almost US$18 billion at SoftBank's Vision Fund. But the Japanese billionaire, long reluctant to cash out of investments like Alibaba Group Holding, embarked on an uncharacteristic sales blitz, raising more than US$50 billion by shedding stakes in Alibaba, T-Mobile US and its domestic wireless affiliate, SoftBank Corp. He used the cash to buy back his own shares, pushing SoftBank G...