[6] The group primarily invests in companies operating in technology that offer goods and services to customers in a multitude of markets and industries ranging from the internet to automation.

[15][16][17] Its investee companies, subsidiaries and divisions, including several unprofitable unicorns,[18][19] operate in robotics, artificial intelligence, software, logistics, transportation, biotechnology, robotic process automation, proptech, real estate, hospitality, broadband, fixed-line telecommunications, e-commerce, information technology, finance, media and marketing, and other areas.

[20] Among its most internationally recognizable current stockholdings are stakes in Arm[21] (semiconductors), Alibaba[22] (e-commerce), OYO Rooms[23] (hospitality), WeWork[24] (coworking) and Deutsche Telekom[25] (telecommunications).

SoftBank Corporation, its spun-out affiliate and former flagship business, is the third-largest wireless carrier in Japan, with 45.621 million subscribers as of March 2021.

[27] The logo of SoftBank is based on the flag of the Kaientai, a naval trading company founded in 1865, near the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, by Sakamoto Ryōma.

In February 2000, SoftBank Ventures Asia was founded under the leadership of Masayoshi Son to focus on investment in Korean-based Internet companies.

[50] On 6 July 2013, the United States Federal Communications Commission approved SoftBank's acquisition for $22.2 billion for a 78% ownership interest in Sprint.

[56] In May 2015, Masayoshi Son said he would appoint Nikesh Arora, a former Google executive, as Representative Director and President of SoftBank.

[58] In June 2015, SoftBank announced it would invest US$1 billion in the Korean e-commerce website Coupang as part of its overseas expansion plans.

Board member Ron Fisher and Baer Capital Partners founder Alok Sama undertook Arora's overseas investment duties.

[68] One month later,[69] Son announced the company's largest deal ever to buy British chip designer Arm Holdings for more than US$32 billion.

[69] In February 2017, it was announced that Social Finance Inc. was close to raising $500 million from an investor group led by Silver Lake, including Softbank.

[78] On 28 March 2017, the Wall Street Journal reported that SoftBank Group Corporation had approached Didi Chuxing Technology Co. about investing $6 billion to help the ride-hailing firm expand in self-driving car technologies, with the bulk of the money to come from SoftBank's planned $100 billion Vision Fund.

[85] The latter agreed to invest $15 billion dollars in the fund, targeting artificial intelligence, communications infrastructure, financial technology, consumer internet, mobile computing and robotics.

[86] Through Softbank Vision Fund, CEO Masayoshi Son explained his intent to invest in all companies developing technologies emphasizing global artificial intelligence, including sectors such as finance or transportation.

[87] In July 2019, SoftBank announced creating of a "Vision Fund 2", excluding participation from the Saudi Arabia government and including investors Apple, Foxconn, Microsoft and others.

[89] On 8 June 2017, Alphabet Inc. announced the sale of Boston Dynamics (robotics companies whose products include BigDog) to SoftBank Group for an undisclosed sum.

[106] Tadashi Yanai, Fast Retailing's CEO and Japan's richest man at the time, left the board after 18 years.

[107] In January 2020, multiple Softbank-funded startups started cutting their staff, including Getaround, Oyo, Rappi, Katerra and Zume.

[112] In March 2020, SoftBank announced that it was launching an emergency ¥4.5tn ($41bn) asset sale to fund a share buyback and debt reduction.

The effort was initiated by Son in order to stem a collapse in the company’s share price due to the pandemic, "This programme will be the largest share buyback and will result in the largest increase in cash balance in the history of SBG [SoftBank Group], reflecting the firm and unwavering confidence we have in our business.".

[118] Also in September 2020, Softbank was identified as the Nasdaq whale, where it bought stock options valued in the billions, betting on higher prices for the biggest technology companies.

[123][124] American chip design company Nvidia announced plans on 13 September 2020, to acquire ARM from SoftBank, pending regulatory approval, for a value of US $40 billion in stock and cash.

[130] In March 2021, SoftBank made a record $36.99 billion profit from its Vision Fund unit and investment gains via the public market debut of Coupang.

[142] Five years after Masayoshi Son’s $100 billion fund entered the financial world to much fanfare, Softbank’s venture firm was crumbling and on the verge of collapse.

Its large venture vehicles struggled badly, performing in the bottom of the asset class, and many of Son’s closest associates in the effort had departed from the company.

[144] In April 2023, SoftBank Group Corp. announced it was selling to a Singapore-based company run by Masayoshi Son’s youngest brother its Korea-based early-stage venture capital arm SoftBank Ventures Asia Corp. after suffering billions of dollars in losses from failed startup bets.

[77] Other holdings include Softbank Corp. [ja], Softbank Vision Fund [ja], Arm Holdings (90.6%), Fortress Investment Group, Boston Dynamics, T-Mobile US (3.3%), Alibaba (29.5%), Yahoo Japan (48.17%), Brightstar (87.1%), Uber (15%), Didi Chuxing (c. 20%), Ola (c. 30%), Renren (42.9%), InMobi (45%), Hike (25.8%), Snapdeal (c. 30%), Fanatics (c. 22%), Improbable Worlds (c. 50%), Paytm (c. 20%), OYO (42%), Ping An Insurance (7.41%),[166] Slack Technologies (c. 5%), WeWork (c. 46%),[167] ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance (5%), Compass, Inc. (c. 30.1%), AUTO1 Group (c. 20%), Wag (45%), Katerra (c. 28%), Cruise Automation (c. 19.6%), ParkJockey,[168] Tokopedia (Indonesia),[169] there are many more companies which SoftBank has invested in.

Since May 2006, SoftBank's telecommunications marketing and commercials have principally revolved around "Otosan sujan karki", the canine patriarch of the otherwise human "Shirason, Kaito" family.

[196] SBVA’s one of the early investments in South Korea included Nexon Co, now a Korean-Japanese gaming publisher that was the largest IPO in Japan for 2011.