SoftBank's Vision Fund 2 (SVF2) reported a substantial gain of $394 million from its investments in Indian startups Lenskart and Meesho during the second quarter of fiscal year 2026. This positive outcome contrasts with valuation losses from other portfolio companies, including Ola Electric, Delhivery, and FirstCry.
The Japanese tech investor revealed that Lenskart, an omnichannel eyewear retailer, contributed $273 million to SVF2's returns in the September quarter. This marked a 27% increase from the previous quarter, bringing the total gross gains from Lenskart to $1.3 billion. Meesho, an e-commerce platform, added $121 million to the fund's gains, raising its total gross returns to $642 million, up from $521 million in the preceding quarter.
SoftBank's investment in Lenskart and Meesho has been significant, with $225 million and $285 million invested, respectively. The gains reflect increased valuations in recent transactions and higher share prices of these companies, according to SoftBank's statement.
While Lenskart and Meesho bolstered SVF2's performance, other investments faced challenges. Ola Electric, a listed Indian electric vehicle maker, saw a valuation loss of $42 million, reducing its gross return to $370 million, down from $412 million in the first quarter of FY26. This figure is notably lower than the $556 million SoftBank claims to have invested in the company.
In addition to Ola Electric, SoftBank's Vision Fund 1 (SVF1) experienced setbacks. Delhivery, a logistics giant, recorded a valuation loss of $34 million, ending the quarter with a gross return of $667 million, down from $701 million in the previous quarter. Similarly, FirstCry's parent company, BrainBees Solutions, saw its gross return drop by $50 million to $308 million.
Despite these losses, another SVF2 portfolio company, Swiggy, reported a modest gain. The food delivery platform achieved a valuation increase of nearly $14 million, bringing its gross returns to $451 million against a total investment of $450 million.
Overall, SoftBank faced a challenging quarter, swinging to a net loss of nearly $7 billion, a stark contrast to the $15.9 billion profit recorded in the same period last year. This marked SoftBank's first loss-making quarter in nearly two years, attributed to rising data center buildout costs in the US and increased financing payments.
However, the company reported a 15.6% increase in net sales, reaching $14.1 billion in the quarter under review, up from $12.2 billion in Q2 FY25. SoftBank remains a significant foreign investor in India, having deployed nearly $16 billion in the country's startups, backing prominent names such as Flipkart, OYO, Delhivery, OfBusiness, FirstCry, and Meesho.
