Apple is investing a whopping $1 billion in the SoftBank Vision Fund for emerging tech

By Christian de Looper January 4, 2017

Image used with permission by copyright holder

It looks like Apple wants to play a bigger role in the advancement of emerging technologies — the company has confirmed that it is investing a whopping $1 billion in the Softbank Fund.

The investment will help as the SoftBank Fund aims to close initial funding by the end of the month, with a final close expected for sometime in mid-2017, according to an article from the Wall Street Journal. Apple joins a growing list of large tech companies — the likes of Qualcomm and Foxconn have also invested in the fund.

“We believe their new fund will speed the development of technologies which may be strategically important to Apple,” said Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet in the Wall Street Journal report.

The fund has a target of $100 billion, so while a $1 billion donation would only be one percent of that goal, it would mean that the largest tech company in the world supports the fund, and that could cause others to invest in it too. SoftBank itself will contribute $25 billion, while the Saudi Arabian government is expected to be the largest contributor with $45 billion.

The SoftBank Fund itself is expected to invest in emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, and has even caught the attention of President-elect Donald Trump, who recently met with SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son to discuss a pledge for $50 billion of the fund to be invested in the U.S. The fund hopes to launch at some point in 2017.

Rumors began surfacing that Apple was in talks to invest in the fund late last year, however it was unclear at the time if those talks would ultimately result in an investment.

Of course, investing in the fund could also be helpful for Apple — it could help the company gain an insight into the innovation taking place in emerging technologies, which could then be implemented into Apple’s new products.

The investment does represent something of a shift for Apple, which has for the most part only invested small stakes in small companies until now. As the Wall Street Journal notes, the company invested $1 billion in Didi Chuxing, China’s Uber competitor, in 2016. SoftBank itself also made an investment in that company.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Christian de Looper

Contributor

Christian’s interest in technology began as a child in Australia, when he stumbled upon a computer at a garage sale that he…

Mobile

Apple Watch Series 9 is even cheaper than it was on Black Friday

A person checking the fitness data on an Apple Watch Series 9.

One of the best Apple deals at the moment is over at Best Buy with a huge $100 off the Apple Watch Series 9. That means instead of costing $399, it’s down to $299 for a limited time which is fantastic value for an equally fantastic smartwatch. If you’ve been waiting for great Apple Watch deals, now is your chance. Take a look below if you need more reminders as to why the Apple Watch Series 9 is perfect for so many people.

Why you should buy the Apple Watch Series 9
The Apple Watch Series 9 is one of the best smartwatches around and the ideal addition for any iPhone owning fitness enthusiast. That’s thanks to it doing a fantastic job of tracking everything you’re doing. At a basic level, it has sensors which mean it can monitor your heart rate giving you a heads up if it detects an irregular heart rhythm or an unusually high or low amount of beats.

Mobile

Best Amazon Fire tablet deals: Save on Fire HD 8, Fire Max 11 and more

The Amazon Kindle Fire Max 11's Home screen.

Tablets have become household tech at this point, and because of that there are a lot of quality options to turn to if you’re looking for one of the best tablets but don’t want to break the bank. One of the better lineups to shop for both quality and affordability is Amazon’s Fire tablet lineup, which always seems to have something among the best tablet deals. We’re seeing some good Amazon Fire tablet deals out there, and we’ve rounded up all of the best Amazon Fire tablet deals below. While much of what’s currently out there are deals on refurbished models, reading onward you’ll find savings on the Fire HD 8, the Fire Max 11, and other great tablets in the Amazon Fire lineup.
Amazon Fire HD 8 (refurbished) -- $55, was $85

If you just need a basic tablet for simple functions such as browsing the internet, doing online shopping, and watching streaming shows, the incredibly affordable Amazon Fire HD 8 may be enough. It's not going to wow you with its performance, as it's only equipped with 2GB of RAM with limited storage of 32GB, but it's got an 8-inch touchscreen with HD resolution and built-in support for Amazon's Alexa, so if that's all you need, go for the Amazon Fire HD 8.

Mobile

Stop! Don’t buy this iPad at Best Buy today

The iPad 10.2 is great for reading.

For those who want to buy one of Apple's iPads but within a tight budget, the highly recommended option is the ninth-generation Apple iPad. The Wi-Fi, 64GB model is pretty cheap for its , which is how much it's going for on Best Buy, but you'll enjoy savings of $80 if you purchase the tablet from Walmart, where it's available for just $249. You're going to have to be quick in completing the transaction though -- with more than 500 units sold over the past 24 hours, we're not sure how much time is remaining before stocks run out.

Why you should buy the Apple iPad 9th Gen
The ninth-generation Apple iPad was released in 2021, but it's still in our roundup of the best iPads as the best iPad on a budget. While it's not as powerful as the latest models of Apple's tablets, it still provides decent performance for most daily tasks with its A13 Bionic chip, which is the same processor that's found in the iPhone 11 series. The tablet ships with iPadOS 15, but you can upgrade it to the latest iPadOS 17 right after unboxing it to be able to access the operating system's latest features.