SoftBank's new mantra for success: Identify future stars early if you can

India office to help Vision Fund spot potential unicorns early to help it invest $100 mn in firm with $500-mn valuation

OYO, FirstCry, Delhivery, and now Grofers. 

After exiting Flipkart, SoftBank is picking up its next set of bets in India. After missing out on companies such as Swiggy and Zomato, it wants to identify future stars early and back them while they are half-unicorns.

“We would like to invest $100 million in a firm with $500-million valuation,” a senior SoftBank executive told journalists when the Saudi Prince visited India last month. Saudi Arabia invested $40 billion in SoftBank's $100-billion Vision Fund.

To identify companies early before they become too expensive, SoftBank has put its feet on the ground. Last November,