Yes it is. They backed a couple hilariously bad bets in a big, public way, and people like feeling smarter than rich strangers.
I would be curious, though, if there are other funds with similar scope and track records to Vision 1 that have just managed to skate under public scrutiny thus far.
> They backed a couple hilariously bad bets in a big, public way, and people like feeling smarter than rich strangers.
The two things are related. The public visions for these companies went beyond the standard startup platitudes about 'making the world a better place'. Regular people can see through that, because they don't live in an SV bubble where playing along with this sort of hubris is encouraged.
I don't think anyone thinks they're smarter than Softbank or Adam Neumann. They may just be enjoying the schadenfreude of this hubris come crashing back to earth once reality entered the picture.
It's not just a couple, and the way they did it is notable. They over-capitalized companies in key sectors like logistics, transportation, robotics, etc.
They pumped in hundreds of millions of dollars per round of funding even when the company might not have needed it (with the threat being "we'll heavily fund your competition if you don't take our deal). Their thesis was to monopolize a few sectors with sheer money and scale.
We're now seeing the effects of that strategy play out.
Don't forget that part of the negativity towards SoftBank comes from the source of most of their funds. At least the majority of their funds in the previous fund they raised.
I would be curious, though, if there are other funds with similar scope and track records to Vision 1 that have just managed to skate under public scrutiny thus far.