SoftBank Group Corp's Vision Fund is implementing a significant workforce reduction, laying off 20 percent of its employees. This decision, affecting over 50 individuals from a total of approximately 282 staff members as of March this year, is a direct consequence of founder Masayoshi Son's strategic pivot towards intensive investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and breakthrough technologies.

The Vision Fund unit has seen its operational focus diminish as Masayoshi Son's appetite for substantial AI ventures has grown. A spokesperson for the Vision Fund confirmed the impending job cuts, explaining that the organization is continually adjusting its structure to best execute its long-term strategy of making bold, high-conviction investments in advanced technologies.

Masayoshi Son's ambitious AI agenda includes several major initiatives. He plans to invest approximately $30 billion in OpenAI and is pursuing a $6.5 billion acquisition of chip designer Ampere Computing, though this deal is currently under regulatory scrutiny. SoftBank has already committed roughly $10 billion to OpenAI. Furthermore, the Japanese conglomerate has partnered with OpenAI and Oracle Corp. on the ambitious $500 billion Stargate initiative, aimed at building extensive AI data centers and related infrastructure across the United States. Son is also reportedly developing a colossal $1 trillion project to establish an AI industrial park, actively seeking collaboration with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC).

The Vision Fund's strategy has increasingly involved divesting key assets to secure the necessary capital for these large-scale AI investments. With SoftBank narrowing its focus to a select few sizable investment deals, the previous need for a large contingent of investment advisors to oversee numerous fresh or existing deals has diminished. The Vision Fund, initially launched in 2017 with over $100 billion, reached its peak employment of 474 people in the fiscal year ending March 2020. Since then, its workforce has shrunk by approximately 40 percent.

This current restructuring signifies a return to Son's characteristic high-risk, high-reward investment philosophy, characterized by concentrated, massive wagers. This marks a departure from the expansive venture capital model that defined the Vision Fund's earlier era, a period during which SoftBank was compelled to de-risk, sell assets, and rebuild its credibility following billions of dollars in losses from its once highly-touted investment in the office-sharing startup WeWork.