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Japanese investment giant SoftBank reported a loss of $23.4 billion for the April-June quarter. Its Vision Fund investments alone contributed $17 billion. A fall in Alibaba’s market cap and a weaker yen hurt. SoftBank is one of the largest investors in Indian startups, with stakes in several big names including Flipkart, Zeta and Meesho. Our startup ecosystem is in turmoil, but SoftBank’s poor earnings raise concerns about what course it might take to avoid tough financial conditions. More recently, SoftBank’s troubles fueled rumors of its sponsored merger talks between Uber and Ola, as the venture fund was considered to own slices of both and needed to see an increase in its portfolio value wherever possible. Was. The cab-drive duo denied any such plans, and SoftBank said on Monday that it had sold all Uber shares, but the episode sparked fears of what might lie in store as a funder conflict. Is. Other global funders such as Tiger and Sequoia also face declining startup valuations, but are not in the same boat as their Tokyo-based rival, which pushed some bets into turmoil even before easy funding policies were rolled back.