SoftBank rewards Yossi Cohen with enhanced role
SoftBank has appointed former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen as strategic advisor, a more senior role bringing him closer to founder and CEO Masayoshi Son. Cohen will continue in Israel but focus on AI data centers and chip investments. He previously led cybersecurity investments in Wiz, Claroty, and Cato Networks. The Wiz investment yielded a major profit, bought at a $12 billion valuation and sold at $32 billion.
SoftBank has promoted former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen to the role of strategic advisor, a more senior position that brings him closer to founder and CEO Masayoshi Son. Cohen, who joined the Japanese investment fund five years ago to lead Israeli operations within Vision Fund 2, will continue to operate in the Israeli market but will focus more on the fund's new areas of activity: financing and developing data centers for AI and cloud processing, and investing in chip companies. According to senior tech industry executives, Cohen spends extended periods in the US and Europe meeting with executives, though no known investment has yet been attributed to him. Since joining SoftBank, Cohen has been mainly involved in cybersecurity investments, including Wiz, Claroty, and Cato Networks. The Wiz investment, made at a $12 billion valuation in 2025, was sold at a $32 billion valuation about a year later, generating a profit of several hundred million shekels. Cohen also led a $150 million investment in Claroty in 2021. The promotion follows changes at Vision Fund, with SoftBank shifting to direct investments in AI infrastructure, OpenAI, ARM, and Intel. The article notes that no response to the report has been forthcoming from Cohen or SoftBank.