In the volatile world of tech investments, even the most seasoned investors occasionally find themselves on the wrong side of a major market move. Masayoshi Son, founder of SoftBank Vision Fund and one of the world’s most influential tech investors, recently shared a poignant example of this reality.

Despite his impressive track record, Son missed out on what could have been his most lucrative investment—Nvidia.

The Painful Sale

Years ago, Son held a substantial 5% stake in Nvidia, the company now at the forefront of the AI revolution. Today, this stake would be valued at an astonishing $160 billion.

Nvidia had been thriving by selling graphics cards to cryptocurrency miners. The company was experiencing a period of financial prosperity, with demand for its products surging due to the cryptocurrency boom. However, this period of rapid growth was followed by a sharp decline.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang referred to this abrupt downturn as a prolonged “hangover.” The sentiment in the market shifted dramatically, leading to a steep 50% drop in Nvidia’s value over just four months. This rapid devaluation created a challenging environment for investors, including Son.

Reacting to this unexpected and severe drawdown, Son decided to sell SoftBank’s shares in Nvidia. The shares, worth less than $4 billion then, were sold to protect his fund’s performance. In hindsight, this move proved premature, as Nvidia’s value and prospects recovered over time.

“I had to tearfully sell the shares,” Son revealed to SoftBank shareholders at the firm’s annual meeting, according to the Wall Street Journal. “The fish that got away was big.”

Had Son held onto his Nvidia shares, the value would have far exceeded his legendary investment in Alibaba, which saw a $20 million investment grow to $60 billion by the time the e-commerce giant went public.

Nvidia has since emerged as the most valuable company in the world, riding the wave of AI advancement. Its GPUs are crucial for AI applications, data centers, and autonomous technologies. Nvidia’s strategic shift from a focus on gaming to AI and data centers has propelled its market value, solidifying its position as a cornerstone of modern technology infrastructure.

SoftBank Vision Fund – A Mixed Bag

The SoftBank Vision Fund, under Son’s leadership, has experienced both significant successes and notable missteps. Launched with a bold $100 billion, the fund aimed to revolutionize tech investment. It backed major companies like Uber and Slack, and controversially, WeWork. Nvidia was among its early investments, thriving initially on sales to crypto miners before a severe downturn slashed its value by 50% within four months.

In February 2019, SoftBank disclosed it had exited its Nvidia position entirely, recovering around $3.6 billion. The decision, while understandable given the circumstances, meant missing out on the subsequent explosive growth of Nvidia’s stock.

“It’s frustrating to remember the ones that I missed,” Son admitted.

Focus on the Future with The Izanagi Fund

Undeterred by past missteps, Son is now channeling his efforts into a new $100 billion fund dedicated to artificial superintelligence (ASI). Named after the Shinto god of creation, Izanagi, this fund reflects Son’s grand vision for the future. While details remain sparse, Son assured that the fund’s scope and ambition would be as monumental as its name implies.

“I seriously believe the reason why Masayoshi Son was born is to make ASI come true,” he said, speaking with confidence.

Attempting to time the market can sometimes be costly for investors — and in the case of SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son, the price tag comes to $150 billion. That’s how much Son missed out on after selling a stake in Nvidia in 2019, more than five years before the AI chip-making powerhouse surged to briefly become the world’s most valuable public company, according to The Wall Street Journal. But it wasn’t all bad news. Selling the 4% stake netted Softbank a $3.3 billion return. Still, Son refers to the sale as “the fish that got away.”

In a surprising turn of events, former President Donald Trump has proposed a policy that would grant green cards to foreign graduates from U.S. colleges, marking a significant shift from his previous stance on immigration. This proposal has sparked a wide range of reactions and discussions about the future of immigration in the United States.

Trump’s suggestion, which came during a podcast interview, would potentially allow hundreds of thousands of noncitizen graduates to remain in the country, providing them with a pathway to citizenship. This move is a departure from his earlier policies that aimed to limit legal migration and is indicative of the evolving landscape of American politics and its approach to immigration.

The former president’s proposal seems to be targeting the “best and brightest,” aiming to retain the talent that foreign students bring to American educational institutions. The idea is that by allowing these graduates to stay, the U.S. can benefit from their skills and contributions to various sectors, especially in high-tech industries where there is a constant demand for skilled workers.

During his presidency, Trump’s administration had proposed curbs on legal immigration, including family-based visas and the visa lottery program. However, his recent statements suggest a recognition of the value that foreign graduates can add to the American workforce and economy. This proposal could represent a significant expansion of the U.S. immigration system, which has been a central topic in Trump’s 2024 bid to return to the White House.

The response to Trump’s proposal has been mixed, with some viewing it as a positive step towards a more merit-based immigration system, while others are skeptical, recalling the former president’s previous anti-immigrant rhetoric and actions. Critics point out the contrast between this proposal and his past comments on immigrants, raising questions about the consistency and reliability of his policies.

The potential benefits of granting green cards to foreign graduates are numerous and can have a significant impact on both the individuals involved and the broader U.S. economy.

Here are some key advantages:

Enhanced Career Opportunities: Green card holders can access a wider job market without the restrictions typically placed on work visas. This allows them to pursue long-term career goals and contribute to the U.S. economy more effectively.

Educational Advantages: With a green card, graduates have the flexibility to continue their education in the U.S. without facing international student visa limitations. This could lead to higher educational attainment and, consequently, a more skilled workforce.

Financial Benefits: Eligibility for federal financial aid and access to in-state tuition rates can significantly reduce the cost of education for green card holders, making higher education more accessible and affordable.

Stability and Security: Permanent residency provides a sense of stability and security, allowing individuals to make long-term plans and investments in their future in the U.S.

Contribution to Innovation: Retaining talented graduates can foster innovation and research, driving technological advancements and economic growth.

Cultural Diversity: Encouraging students from diverse backgrounds to remain in the U.S. enriches the cultural fabric of the nation and promotes global understanding.

Demographic Benefits: As the U.S. faces an aging population, young, skilled immigrants can help balance the demographic scales and support the social security system.

The debate over Trump’s green card proposal for foreign graduates is a reflection of the broader conversation on immigration reform in the United States. It underscores the need for a balanced approach that addresses the country’s economic needs while ensuring fair and humane treatment of immigrants. As the 2024 election approaches, immigration is likely to remain a hot-button issue, with proposals like Trump’s adding new dimensions to the discourse.

The proposal to offer green cards to foreign graduates of U.S. colleges by former President Donald Trump has introduced a new dynamic to the immigration policy debate. It highlights the complexities of the issue and the importance of developing policies that both support the nation’s economic interests and uphold its values. As the conversation continues, it will be crucial to monitor the implications of such proposals on the future of immigration in America.

Great feedback on the piece on how to fix our broken digital security regime in Nigeria. Let me also add that the playbook must not necessarily be anchored on technology alone. Yes, there must be a non-tech component which must be deployed to address some of these issues.

Good People, Nigeria should declare a financial state of emergency on “Cyberfraud, Identity Theft & Wire Fraud” in the nation. In the last three years, many fintech startups have failed, not because of market conditions, but because of this fraud vector. 

I posit that we may even have to redesign the architecture of our financial and banking infrastructures. Look at OTP; it is a magnificent innovation which does reduce fraud. But note that OTP is mainly checking for access, and when you do not have full control of your data, as a user, OTP will bring surprises. 

Today, in Nigeria, you can get any government data of any citizen, starting from a mere phone number. One site, reported by Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN), claims: “We provide millions of our users reliable and quickest services to verify people’s identity using their NIN, BVN, International Passport, Driving License, Voter’s Card and do much more.” Simply, with one stolen or not ID, bad actors can download all your data, and can use that data, to recreate an identity for you. The illusion for most of these services is that the real owner has provided approval; that is not always the case.

One of the biggest frauds in Nigeria a few months ago, which affected many startups, happened because they can now set up accounts of REAL companies by cloning the identities of their owners, and some banks will fail to detect them! You ask for a passport, they provide; BVN, they give; etc. (Solution: always use real-time automatic photo verification).

Nigerians do not have full control of their data as websites are morphing, selling and distributing our data. I expect ONLY the government to be the repository of my data and should prevent others from scrapping to commercialize access to it. Today, if someone calls you, you can use that number to pull information that person submitted when getting that SIM number. We must challenge that. I commend PIN for leading that charge.

Finally, when was the last time you collected N100,000 from a POS agent and the amount was complete? What are we doing to ensure that cheating is stopped in that sector? In the old banking days, an Inspection unit would have taken those bad actors out within weeks. 

Can EFCC help by having a task force to fish out those bad actors as the old banking Inspectorate Unit used to do it? Nigerians are losing money on this selling and buying Naira business called agency banking through this fraud vector. We must stop it!  We do not need to import tech for that. Yes, someone must get annoyed and save the common citizens.

Naira became a “commodity” when Nigeria scaled POS agency banking. When that happened, the Naira, among other features, became a “product” or “service” which could be purchased and resold for “gain”. That is not new since we exchange US dollars for Naira and vice versa, but in this case, you are exchanging digital Naira for cash, and vice versa, within the context of the same currency. Endogenously, it means there are many frictions in the availability, velocity and transmissibility of Naira for POS agents to have imposed a fee to fix them.