Latest news with #SoftBankCorp
Yomiuri Shimbun
27-06-2025
- Business
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Japan's SoftBank to Trial ‘Flying Base Stations' From 2026; System to Initially be Used to Support Disaster Response, Areas with Weak Signal
SoftBank Corp. announced Thursday that it would begin trials of High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) stratospheric telecommunications services in Japan in 2026. HAPS, which is referred to as 'base stations in the sky,' is a telecommunication platform comprised of communication devices such as antennas for mobile phone base stations, which are loaded on aircraft that fly in the stratosphere at an altitude of 20 kilometers. SoftBank will invest about ¥2.2 billion in the U.S.-based company Sceye Inc., which develops lighter-than-air airship-type HAPS aircraft buoyed by helium and will begin using Sceye's platform. The technology will be utilized for restoring communications during large-scale disasters. HAPS are powered by solar panels and batteries, can remain airborne for extended periods and are able to cover a wider area than ground-based base stations. SoftBank will procure one Sceye aircraft of 65 meters long and begin test operations in Japan. The pre-commercial service will be limited to select users to accumulate operational data. Commercial services for general users are expected to begin after 2027, being used for disaster response and in areas where ground-based base station signals cannot be picked up, such as on remote islands.
Los Angeles Times
26-06-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
SoftBank backs giant floating climate stations startup
A startup building massive, bullet-shaped helium balloons that float in the stratosphere has raised $15 million from Japan's SoftBank Corp. — part of an effort to monitor climate data and bring connectivity to hard-to-reach areas. The company, called Sceye Inc., has built more than 20 of its zeppelin-like airships, stationed at a sprawling 41,600-square-foot warehouse in New Mexico. The vehicles — technically called high-altitude platform stations — are 214 feet long, almost the size of a Boeing 747's wingspan, and are equipped with specialized cameras and radars. Designed to hover above the earth for months at a time, Sceye's monitoring stations can capture real-time data on wildfires, flooding and greenhouse gases. They can also provide wireless service to people on the ground during large-scale disasters. The company's Chief Executive Officer Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen said that he expected SoftBank — the telecom unit of the tech conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp. — to be an important strategic partner to the startup. 'As a telephone company, it knows the limitations of towers and fiber optic cables and satellite constellations,' Frandsen said. 'This is a critical area for them to come into.' Founded in 2014, the company has notched a valuation of $580 million with the latest investment. Other backers of the company include Saudi investor Mawarid Holding Company. Sceye (pronounced 'sky') began testing its high-tech balloons nine years ago with a much smaller prototype. Last year, the company led its first 'full diurnal flight,' meaning one of its stations stayed afloat in an area for more than 24 hours — a feat Frandsen said helped prove the efficacy of its strategy to stay operational using solar power in the day and batteries at night. With its new funding and SoftBank partnership, next year Sceye plans to fly one of its stratospheric platforms to Japan, where it will offer broadband services for a multi-week period before returning to New Mexico. The demonstration will be one of the last steps the company will take before it's ready to sell its product commercially, Frandsen said. SoftBank has been developing similar satellite-adjacent services since 2017, company president Junichi Miyakawa said in a statement. High-altitude platform station technology will 'play a key role in expanding network area coverage' to places that are difficult to reach with existing networks, Miyakawa said, adding that the services 'will also provide a means of restoring communications when large-scale disasters strike.' Previously, Sceye has partnered with NASA and the US Geological Survey to provide climate and environmental imaging.
Cision Canada
17-06-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
Aduna partners with SoftBank Corp. to expand network API access in Japan
PLANO, Texas, June 17, 2025 /CNW/ -- Aduna, the global aggregator of network APIs, today announced that it has entered into a strategic commercial partnership with SoftBank Corp. ("SoftBank") as part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The collaboration will focus on expanding developer access to standardized telecom APIs and supporting industry-wide initiatives such as the GSMA Open Gateway. The engagement aligns with industry efforts to simplify how developers interact with network functions by building on the foundations of the CAMARA open-source project. Together, Aduna and SoftBank will help enable cross-operator alignment and faster implementation of programmable telco capabilities across markets. By combining SoftBank's advanced infrastructure and digital expertise with Aduna's unified integration platform, the two companies aim to lower barriers for innovation and make it easier for businesses to embed connectivity intelligence into their applications. This partnership further expands Aduna's reach in Asia and reinforces the importance of interoperable, carrier-grade APIs as building blocks for the future of enterprise services, fintech, mobility, and beyond. About SoftBank Corp. Guided by the SoftBank Group's corporate philosophy, "Information Revolution – Happiness for everyone," SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) operates telecommunications and IT businesses in Japan and globally. Building on its strong business foundation, SoftBank Corp. is expanding into non-telecom fields in line with its "Beyond Carrier" growth strategy while further growing its telecom business by harnessing the power of 5G/6G, IoT, Digital Twin and Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) solutions, including High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS)-based stratospheric telecommunications. While constructing AI data centers and developing homegrown LLMs specialized for the Japanese language with 1 trillion parameters, SoftBank is integrating AI with radio access networks (AI-RAN) with the aim of becoming a provider of next-generation social infrastructure. To learn more, please visit About Aduna Aduna is a landmark venture between some of the world's leading telecom operators and Ericsson, dedicated to enabling developers worldwide to accelerate innovation by leveraging networks to their full potential via common network Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). Its venture partners include: AT&T, Bharti Airtel, Deutsche Telekom, e&, KDDI, Orange, Reliance Jio, Singtel, Telefonica, Telstra, T-Mobile, Verizon and Vodafone. Aduna's developer partner platforms include Google Cloud, Infobip, Sinch, and Vonage. By combining network APIs from multiple operators globally under a unified platform based on the CAMARA open-source project, driven by the GSMA and the Linux Foundation, Aduna provides a standardized platform to foster collaboration, enhance user experiences, and drive industry growth. To find out more about network APIs and Aduna, visit Media Contact:
Time of India
03-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Irish fintech Nomupay gets $40 mln investment from SoftBank
Live Events Irish fintech Nomupay said on Tuesday it had received a $40 million investment from an unit of SoftBank Corp at a valuation of $290 million to help it expand in Asian countries such as started operations in 2021 after buying licences from payments company Wirecard, which collapsed a year earlier in Germany's biggest post-war fraud has since raised $120 million, with the last round of $37 million in January valuing it at $200 million."We will integrate the Japanese payment methods that are provided by SoftBank, which means the rest of the world can now access Japan, and then we will jointly expand into other markets," Nomupay CEO Peter Burridge told is a payment processor focusing on local and cross-border payments and operates in an industry dominated by the likes of Stripe and Adyen."We aim to be profitable by the end of the year," Burridge said.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Irish fintech Nomupay gets $40 million investment from SoftBank
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Irish fintech Nomupay said on Tuesday it had received a $40 million investment from an unit of SoftBank Corp at a valuation of $290 million to help it expand in Asian countries such as Japan. Nomupay started operations in 2021 after buying licences from payments company Wirecard, which collapsed a year earlier in Germany's biggest post-war fraud scandal. Nomupay has since raised $120 million, with the last round of $37 million in January valuing it at $200 million. "We will integrate the Japanese payment methods that are provided by SoftBank, which means the rest of the world can now access Japan, and then we will jointly expand into other markets," Nomupay CEO Peter Burridge told Reuters. Nomupay is a payment processor focusing on local and cross-border payments and operates in an industry dominated by the likes of Stripe and Adyen. "We aim to be profitable by the end of the year," Burridge said.
