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SoftBank has tapped Mark Agne to oversee finance and technology at its Vision Fund, placing a Goldman Sachs veteran at the controls of one of the largest investment vehicles on the planet.
Agne, who joined SoftBank in 2019, previously led Goldman Sachs’ Japan Securities Division and co-headed APAC equity trading. He now holds the title of Managing Partner, Head of Capital Strategies, and also serves as a director of SB Investment Advisers (UK) Limited, a role he’s held since December 2023.
The Vision Fund’s massive footprint
Launched in 2017, the fund manages over $100 billion in committed capital and has built a portfolio spanning more than 300 companies. Its primary targets are artificial intelligence, fintech, and growth-stage firms.
The Vision Fund reported a $46 billion gain in the fiscal year ending March 2025, a figure largely driven by its investment in OpenAI.
The crypto question SoftBank already answered
SoftBank once held a stake in FTX. That stake has been written down to zero. The fund paused its blockchain-focused investments in early 2023, and there’s been no public indication of a reversal.
SoftBank’s pivot away from blockchain isn’t just about one bad investment. It reflects a broader institutional recalibration where large funds are choosing to chase AI’s demonstrable commercial applications rather than crypto’s more speculative promises.
What this means for investors
The competitive landscape for institutional capital is increasingly a zero-sum game between AI and everything else. Every dollar that flows into OpenAI-style investments is a dollar that doesn’t flow into crypto infrastructure, DeFi protocols, or blockchain startups. SoftBank’s Vision Fund isn’t the only large allocator making this choice, but its scale makes the decision especially consequential.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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