SoftBank Injects $4.4 Billion into WeWork
Office rental startup WeWork has secured a massive $4.4 billion from Japan’s SoftBank Group and the SoftBank Vision Fund, which is a $100 billion technology investment fund.
Since May, SoftBank has poured billions into companies across industries, but WeWork’s new financing is the fund’s largest U.S. investment.
“Masayoshi Son is a visionary business leader and we are humbled by this strong endorsement of our mission and purpose,” said WeWork CEO Adam Neumann in a statement. “This support from SoftBank and the Vision Fund will provide even more opportunities for creators as we set out to humanize the way people work and live.”
The tech company announced its latest WeWork investment will accelerate the startup’s ability to grow their global community. SoftBank will invest $3 billion into WeWork through buying new shares and purchasing shares from existing investors.
The remaining $1.4 billion will be directed toward the company’s Asia expansion, including three WeWork subsidiaries: WeWork China, WeWork Japan and WeWork Pacific.
“WeWork is leveraging the latest technologies and its own proprietary data systems to radically transform the way people work,” said Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group Corp. “Adam’s unique vision and talented team have created a sharing platform that offers maximum flexibility and opportunity to creators of all types, from young entrepreneurs to large multinational companies.”
WeWork currently has 150,000 members that can access shared co-working spaces in 16 countries.
