Executive: Maria Tereza Azevedo, Investment Director
Member name: SoftBank Group
Year Founded:1981
HQ: Tokyo, Japan
Offices: London, Silicon Valley, Tokyo, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, Mexico City, Miami, Mumbai, New York, Riyadh, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore and Washington, D.C.
AUM: USD166b (total commitments to Vision Funds)

LAVCA: You sit on the board of multiple prominent startups in Latin America. What would you say are the main priorities and challenges that entrepreneurs are facing today?

Maria Tereza: LatAm entrepreneurs are known for their resilience and are no strangers to volatility and uncertainty — There’s nothing fundamentally new about the current environment. What is new is the scale of opportunity around AI, and we strongly believe that this should be a key priority for founders. The challenge is figuring out how AI will take shape and recognizing where value will accrue in the Latin American context. There’s a lot of excitement, but also uncertainty.

Other pressing priorities include streamlining cash burn and navigating higher costs of capital. Founders are being forced to do more with less, which is leading to a greater focus on efficiency and sustainable growth. Here AI can also be a potent ally.

As for challenges, liquidity and exit paths remain the biggest hurdles. We are still struggling to see consistent outcomes on that front, both through public markets and M&A. Talent, which was once an issue when we first launched, isn’t a problem anymore. There’s a deep and growing pool of highly capable operators across the region.

How are you supporting your portfolio companies in this investment environment?

SoftBank operates with proprietary capital from our balance sheet, giving us flexibility and a long-term view that allows us to be long-term partners and double down on winners. We continue to support our companies with follow-on investments, especially where we see outperformance potential and a clear AI opportunity. Our LatAm funds were originally structured as 10-year vehicles, but we’ve built-in flexibility to adapt as needed. We also continue to hold several positions in publicly listed companies, providing us with more liquidity options.

We are fortunate that most of our portfolio companies are well capitalized. They have been proactive about capital efficiency, so many have already reached a breakeven point, have a clear path to profitability, or have over 18 months of runway. That puts them in a good place to operate without being overly reliant on external fundraising.

We are also working with our portfolio companies to consider M&A opportunities, as startups and incumbents look to consolidate or expand their AI capabilities through acquisitions. This is a unique moment to play offense, not just defense.

Finally, our global portfolio positions us to offer valuable benchmarks, strategic introductions and best practices drawn from over 500 investments across the Vision funds. We also have over a decade of experience in AI, including the recently announced USD40b commitment to OpenAI.

What role does AI play in your investment thesis and portfolio strategy?

AI is central to our global thesis — Masa has been very vocal about this over the past decade — and it gives us a clear edge in Latin America. We are able to draw on expertise from the global Vision Fund while adapting to local market dynamics through dedicated teams in the region. Some of our portfolio companies already have AI at their core, and others are exploring how to integrate it to drive operational efficiency, launch new products faster and cheaper, or enhance existing products.

We also encourage cross-portfolio synergies — sharing best practices, benchmarks and use cases to help companies learn from one another. With over 80 Latin American companies in our portfolio, there’s a lot of room to unlock value through collaboration.

Can you share an example of how AI is being implemented in your portfolio?

A great example is Blip, one of our most recent investments in Latin America. It’s a conversational commerce platform with AI deeply embedded in its product. They’re using AI to help corporates boost sales and improve customer satisfaction through intuitive communication tools.

Other portfolio companies are leveraging AI in sector-specific ways, analyzing billions of proprietary data points with existing learning models. For example, Inter & Co is refining its underwriting algorithms and personalizing service for its clients; Jusbrasil is analyzing legal data to offer better tools and insights; Gympass is using data from millions of check-ins throughout the value chain; and Afya is applying AI tools in its education services, content production, and smart solutions for doctors. Across the board, AI is enabling our companies to be more efficient, move faster, reduce costs and launch new products more efficiently.

What was the investment thesis behind your recent investment in Blip, and how do you plan to support them?

We were highly impressed by Blip’s team. They are targeting a massive total addressable market with a scalable, user-friendly solution, and they are strategically positioned within the value chain to help clients directly drive revenue growth.

Blip brings together an AI-native product, an experienced and capable team, a significant market opportunity, a strong balance sheet and demonstrated traction. In today’s environment, where exits remain challenging, having both financial stability and a clear path to profitability is essential — and Blip delivers on both.

Is SoftBank evaluating new investment opportunities in Latin America? What sectors and geographies are most attractive?

Absolutely. We’re still actively sourcing and bringing new ideas to the investment committees. We typically look to deploy checks of at least USD20m for minority stakes, but we also invest time in building relationships with early-stage AI companies that may be ready for capital further down the line.

AI remains the most exciting theme for us — we see potential across several sectors from financial services, legal, e-commerce, human resources, education, healthcare and different business models (B2B and B2C). The region offers ample opportunity for disruption, especially when paired with talent density, attractive demographics, a digital-savvy population and an overall pro-innovation stance — despite macro challenges.