SoftBank Vision Fund 2 Books $394 Mn Gains on Lenskart and Meesho

SoftBank's Vision Fund 2 booked a $42 million valuation loss on Ola Electric in the quarter ended September 2026, even as two other listed Indian holdings, Lenskart and Meesho, added a combined $394 million in gains. The figures come from SoftBank's own investor presentation for what the firm calls Q2 FY26. The split tells a story about mark-to-market accounting more than about cash.

How much did each Indian holding move?

Ola Electric's gross return to SVF2 fell to $370 million in the quarter, down $42 million, or 10.2%, from $412 million in the prior quarter. That leaves the position almost 30% below the $556 million SoftBank says it has invested in the EV maker. The loss is a paper revaluation of a listed share price, not an exit. SoftBank has not sold.

Lenskart moved the other way. The omnichannel eyewear company added $273 million in gross returns during the quarter. SVF2's cumulative gross gains from Lenskart reached $1.3 billion in Q2 FY26, up 27% sequentially from $1 billion. Against that, SoftBank claims total invested capital of just $225 million. Meesho contributed another $121 million, lifting gross gains on that position to $642 million from $521 million in Q1, on invested capital of $285 million.

"The investment gain at SVF2 reflected increases in the fair values of certain private portfolio companies due to higher valuations in recent transactions as well as higher share prices of certain public portfolio companies, including Meesho Limited and Lenskart Solutions Limited," SoftBank said in a statement. Note the phrasing. Some of the gain rests on recent private-round valuations, which are transaction-dependent and can reverse.

Swiggy, another Indian holding, gained nearly $14 million. Its gross return reached $451 million in Q2 FY26, up from $437 million, against a total investment of $450 million. The position has finally crossed into nominal surplus.

What went wrong at Vision Fund 1?

The older fund had a rougher quarter. Delhivery produced a sequential valuation loss of $34 million, with gross returns falling to $667 million from $701 million in Q1 FY26. FirstCry parent BrainBees Solutions did worse. Its gross return dropped 14%, or $50 million, to $308 million from $358 million.

Both are listed companies. The losses track share prices, not write-offs. SoftBank disclosed no plans to sell either stake.

Why did SoftBank post a group loss?

The Indian portfolio was a bright spot in an otherwise poor quarter. SoftBank swung to a net loss of nearly $7 billion in Q2 FY26, against a profit of $15.9 billion a year earlier. It was the company's first loss-making quarter in nearly two years. SoftBank blamed rising buildout costs for data centres in the US and a sharp jump in financing payments.

Net sales rose 15.6% to $14.1 billion from $12.2 billion in Q2 FY25. Revenue grew; costs grew faster. That is the whole of the loss explanation the company offered.

How exposed is SoftBank to India?

SoftBank has deployed nearly $16 billion in Indian startups to date, and its portfolio there is valued close to $14 billion. It has funded nearly a fifth of India's more than 100 unicorns, including Flipkart, OYO, Delhivery, OfBusiness, FirstCry and Meesho. India is one of the few markets currently returning gains rather than losses.

A caveat belongs here. Gross return figures are SoftBank's own calculations, presented without independent valuation, and they move with market prices quarter to quarter. Lenskart's 27% sequential jump and Ola Electric's 10.2% decline are the same kind of number, viewed from opposite ends. If US data centre costs keep climbing, and financing payments with them, SoftBank may need its Indian listed positions to keep appreciating simply to offset the group's heavier balance sheet.