Taizo Son
Taizo Son | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 29, 1972 Tosu City, Saga Prefecture, Japan |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, CEO |
| Known for | Founder and CEO of Mistletoe; Chairman of GungHo |
Taizo Son (孫泰蔵 손태장, born September 29, 1972) is a Japanese entrepreneur with Korean heritage. He holds the position of CEO at Mistletoe, a company he established in 2013, and is also chairman of the mobile gaming firm GungHo, founded in 2002. In 2013, GungHo's market capitalization soared to $10.4 billion, elevating Son to billionaire status. He is the youngest sibling of SoftBank tycoon Masayoshi Son.
Early life
Born in Tosu City, located in Saga Prefecture, Japan, Taizo Son completed his secondary education at a school affiliated with Kurume University. He then pursued business administration studies at the University of Tokyo. During his university years, at his brother Masayoshi’s invitation, he became involved with the Yahoo Japan initiative. There, he presented proposals directly to Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang and oversaw content development while managing a team of 100 employees to successfully launch Yahoo Japan within a three-month timeframe.
Career
In 1998, Son co-established Onsale, which was later renamed GungHo. He assumed the role of CEO and led the company through its initial public offering on the Nippon New Market Hercules (which was subsequently known as JASDAQ) on March 9, 2005. The company’s valuation increased dramatically to $10.4 billion in 2013, largely due to the worldwide popularity of its mobile game Puzzle & Dragons, which ranked as the highest-earning app that year.
Son initiated the seed accelerator MOVIDA JAPAN in 2009, providing backing to 47 startups such as translimit, flier, trippiece, nana music, U-NOTE, and Shiroyagi Corporation. Although the accelerator program ended in June 2014, investment efforts continued through the venture capital entity Genuine Startups.
In 2013, Son launched Mistletoe as a platform dedicated to nurturing entrepreneurial ecosystems by offering education, fostering community networks, investing in startups, and supporting venture capital initiatives.
After relocating to Singapore in 2018, he co-founded SPECTRUM, a center for business and innovation. In 2023, together with Mistletoe director Atsushi Taira, he established The Edgeof, a venture capital firm and ecosystem builder. That same year, The Edgeof acquired SoftBank Ventures Asia to develop a pan-Asian network aimed at empowering innovative startups.
Boards and honors
Son holds a board position at ETIC, an organization committed to equipping young individuals with skills for social entrepreneurship.