SoftBank plans to invest more than $10 billion in India, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad separately met the Japanese telecom and Internet giant’s chairman Masayoshi Son. Son pegged India as the company’s top priority. In his meeting with Prasad, Son highlighted the company’s bullish outlook for India’s e-commerce sector.
SoftBank is reported to be in advanced funding talks with mobile commerce company Paytm for an infusion of around $300 million while it is also expected to announce a $210-million investment in cab rental startup Olacabs shortly. It’s already an investor in India and has put $200 million into mobile advertising firm InMobi in 2011. It has also formed a joint venture with Sunil Mittal-founded Bharti Airtel — Bharti SoftBank — which invests in mobile technology companies. This week SoftBank purchased a $627 million stake in fast-growing online marketplace Snapdeal.
Kunal Bahl, co-founder and chief executive of Snapdeal, said the two sides were quick to negotiate a deal, taking just three weeks. “Most of the capital investment we’re going to make is in technology,” he said in an interview, signalling about $250 million will be spent next year. Bahl said the company plans to open a Bangalore innovation centre in two weeks, and Snapdeal was planning to hire about 500 engineers. Pressure had been growing on Snapdeal to raise funds to compete as online retail surges in India, with local industry leader Flipkart raising $1 billion in July, and global e-commerce giant Amazon.com pledging to invest a further $2 billion in its India unit.
Last updated: December 26th, 2025
