Masayoshi Son
I want to be number one.
It would take enormous expertise for Amazon to win in every category. Do you think McDonald's could be number one in hamburgers, seafood, and Chinese food?
Softbank has always been a service firm, and with the Internet, services became the center of the technology industry.
My philosophy is that the digital revolution will make mankind happier and more productive, and that won't change over the next 300 years. If you don't stick to that original philosophy, even perfect control of a bunch of companies isn't going to do you any good.
I am the largest shareholder in SoftBank; I share the same interest as the other shareholders.
It's easy to look at where your pieces are now and place the next one nearby.
We saw a big bang in PCs; we saw a big bang in the Internet. I believe the next big bang is going to be even bigger. To be ready for that, we need to set the foundation, and that foundation is SoftBank Vision Fund.
I am going to support Ola.
I see a lot of opportunity in Internet-related start-ups, and second is the solar business.
Indian software engineers are the best in the world; even in Silicon Valley, the best software engineers are Indians.
Internet as a service is like culture that you have to understand, and each country has a local culture.
Of course Jack Ma was the guy who impressed me.
In Internet in general, there are security, privacy, and many other issues.
Alibaba model is the model that I am supporting in China, in India, and even in Japan.
Mankind had the agricultural revolution, the industrial revolution, and now this third one, the information revolution.
The autonomous car is definitely coming, and when that stage comes, this ride-share business becomes even more important.
I am the man who keeps his words.
India has the best opportunity ahead of us.
I was richer than Bill Gates for 3 days.
It's actually sad to be rich.
My passion never fades out.
In the early stages of Internet in Japan, many said that Japanese and Americans are different. There are 10 reasons why Japanese Internet is not taking off. I said none of them are right; it's just a time lag. And, of course, Japanese Internet took off.
I said from the very beginning, 'Yahoo should position itself as a technology innovation company, not as a media company.'
If they had listened to me and had equal partnerships in China, the U.K., Germany and Brazil, maybe Yahoo in those countries could have become positioned like Yahoo Japan.
I always take bold moves. So it can have great return but with great risk.
SoftBank has had a lot of businesses, but they've always ranked, say, third in Japan or fourth in the U.S.
Renewables is part of social responsibility, but the information revolution is the only main thing I am interested in.
When you negotiate a deal, you clearly know a lot about the other person.
Best thing for a government to do is to eliminate obstacles like filing registrations, getting licences, and so on... tedious steps slow everything down.
Softbank 2.0 means globalisation of Softbank.
When those super intelligence goes into robots, those robots with the super intelligence will change our lives.
I am actually better at predicting or talking about 30 years later than three years.
I am not trying to chase what other people are doing.
When I was a kid, our family was not that rich.
We have lots of ideas, lots of dreams.
Alibaba is Alibaba. We are going to keep on, you know, having Alibaba as our core company in our family.
Back in the year 2000, most of the Internet companies were not making any money.
I always have a big idea. It pops up every two to three years.
To many of you, Sprint may seem like a burden for SoftBank. But in my view, Sprint is going to be one of SoftBank's primary cash cows.
I think in terms of 20-year horizons.
Whenever there is a big difficulty, I don't make excuses. Instead, I say I will solve it even if everybody leaves.
Difficulty comes not only because of your mistakes, but once you try to make an excuse or accuse someone else, your mind stops thinking.
Uber has to design for the global platform.
Those who rule chips will rule the entire world.
We feel a brand should be free.
When the founders retire, it's always difficult for the second generation and third generation.
SoftBank is not a specialist on any instrument. We did not invent any instrument. Not the best player. But we would like to be a conductor of this information revolution.
I think Snapdeal could become the Alibaba of India.
I have no intention of making small bets.