"[UK tech startup] Improbable is building breakthrough technologies that are becoming vital and valuable platforms for the global gaming industry," Deep Nishar, managing director of investments at SoftBank, said in a statement. Beyond gaming, Nishar said, SoftBank believed Improbable’s simulation technology could be used to help explore disease, improve cities, understand economies and solve other complex problems. Nishar is joining Improbable’s board.
SoftBank founder and chief executive officer Masayoshi Son has been trying to establish the Japanese company, which has a history investing in telecommunications and game companies, at the forefront of a host of emerging technologies. In particular, Son has been staking SoftBank’s future on the growth of machine learning, where software is able to learn from data and experience, and the Internet of Things, the idea of connecting everything from home appliances to industrial equipment to the internet. His largest investment in the U.K. to date was the $32 billion purchase of chip designer ARM Holdings Plc last year.