Hodder scoops biography of Silicon Valley investor Masayoshi Son

Hodder & Stoughton is publishing the first English-language biography of Silicon Valley investor and SoftBank c.e.o. Masayoshi Son in June.

Huw Armstrong, senior commissioning editor for non-fiction, acquired world English rights directly from the author.

Aiming High: Masayoshi Son, SoftBank and Disrupting Silicon Valley will chart Son’s story, as a Korean immigrant who dropped out of high school and became "one of the wealthiest, and most powerful, people in the world". The book was originally published in Japan by biographer Atsuo Inoue, where it has gone on to sell over 80,000 copies.

SoftBank, which originally started as a store for computer parts, is a tech, media, and telecom conglomerate which was recently valued at over $115bn. Considered one of the foremost investors in Silicon Valley, one of Son’s early investments was in Alibaba, while other tech companies and start-ups invested in include Uber, Slack, WeWork and Bytedance.

Armstrong said: "Son is a legend - an eccentric and charismatic leader who has an audacious vision for the future. Yet alongside other tech giants, like [Elon] Musk and [Jeff] Bezos, his name is rarely mentioned. This book changes that. Aiming High has all the makings of a classic: a charismatic leader, a visionary company, a storied career spanning many decades. I’m proud to be getting Masa’s story out there. It’s going to be a good one."

The hardback, e-book and audio will be published 3rd June 2021.