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SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son.
- SoftBank is considering putting around $300 million (£222 million) into US food startup DoorDash.
- The Japanese tech giant has a $98 billion (£73 billion) fund to invest in promising tech companies worldwide.
- DoorDash competes with the likes of UberEats and GrubHub.
SoftBank is mulling a $300 million (£222 million) investment in food delivery service DoorDash, according to a Recode report on Friday.
The investment would reportedly come from SoftBank's $98 billion (£73 billion) "Vision Fund," which was announced last October. The fund has been backed by companies like Apple and Sharp, as well as the Saudi Arabia sovereign wealth fund.
DoorDash was valued at $720 million (£533 million) in March 2016, Recode reports. The startup delivers food from many of the best known food chains in the US including Wendy's and Cheesecake Factory.
One thing that might put SoftBank off DoorDash is the fact that it competes with Uber's food delivery franchise, UberEats. SoftBank has launched a tender offer to acquire up to 20% of Uber.
DoorDash also competes with firms like Deliveroo, Amazon Restaurants, GrubHub, and Postmates.
SoftBank was also rumoured to be interested in investing in London-headquartered food delivery service Deliveroo earlier this year but the deal never came off.
When SoftBank announced the Vision Fund, Masayoshi Son, the billionaire chairman and CEO of SoftBank, said in a statement:
"Technology has the potential to address the biggest challenges and risks facing humanity today. The businesses working to solve these problems will require patient long-term capital and visionary strategic investment partners with the resources to nurture their success.
SoftBank has long made bold investments in transformative technologies and supported disruptive entrepreneurs. The SoftBank Vision Fund is consistent with this strategy and will help build and grow businesses creating the foundational platforms of the next stage of the Information Revolution."
SoftBank and DoorDash did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.