Softbank’s Latest Investments in Mapbox and Ola

SoftBank Vision Fund’s investments in San Francisco mapping technology startup Mapbox and Indian ride-sharing outfit Ola reflect founder Masayoshi Son’s growing financial stake in technologies and business models that are disrupting the global automotive and transportation industries. As Son reportedly nears a massive investment in Uber, he is also backing a number of complementary technologies and rival companies.

Softbank and Chinese ride-sharing company Didi Chuxing invested $2 billion in July in Singaporean transportation and mobile payments company Grab. The investment followed Softbank’s $100 million funding of Brazilian ride-sharing startup 99 in May, and a $5 billion stakein DiDi Chuxing, formerly Xiaoju Kuaizhi Inc., in April.