SoftBank Group Corp. is under pressure to shore up its Vision funds after seeing significant losses this year.

The Japanese conglomerate's investment unit reported one of its biggest first fiscal quarter losses in August, on the back of battered technology stocks and rising interest rates. Vision Fund 2 reported losses of $10.4 billion for the quarter ended in June, which slightly outweighed Vision Fund 1's losses of $9.4 billion. That followed even larger losses of $23.9 billion for Vision Fund 1 in the March quarter, when Vision Fund 2 reported losses of $2.2 billion.

Both Vision funds invest venture capital in high-growth startups across the world.

Amid the ongoing losses, SoftBank Group is considering the launch a third Vision fund, The Wall Street Journal reported Sept. 15. The new fund would reportedly use SoftBank's cash on hand to launch. Another option under discussion is for SoftBank to put more money into Vision Fund 2, according to the publication.

Vision Fund 2 held 269 investments during the most recent reporting period, including 14 public portfolio companies, with a fair value of $37.24 billion. The fund, which had a total of $56 billion of committed capital from SoftBank Group, posted losses based on declines in the share price of AutoStore Holdings Ltd. and WeWork Inc.

Vision Fund 2's private investment acquisition costs in Asia, excluding China and India, rose 587.5% year over year — the largest increase in any geography. That was followed by a 241.2% year-over-year increase in investment acquisition costs in China, and a 204.3% increase in the U.S. and Canada, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

Some of Vision Fund 2's investments in other parts of Asia include Singapore-based automotive marketplace company Carro and digital lending services startup Funding Societies Pte. Ltd.; Indonesia-headquartered aquaculture tech company PT Multidaya Teknologi Nusantara; Australian corporate education content hub GO1 Pty. Ltd.; and South Korea-based education technology startup Riiid! Inc.

During an August conference call, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son said the funds have become "more cautious" about investing in China as a result of the ongoing regulatory scrutiny in the country. Private investment acquisition costs for Vision Fund 2 in China represented 11.8% of the fund's total as of June 30. That compared to 10.2% a year earlier.

SoftBank Group historically used gains from Vision Funds 1 and 2 to continue funding investments. With both funds reporting losses, the company may need to look at asset monetization options instead.

One asset that SoftBank has frequently turned to for capital raising is its stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., worth ¥4.5 trillion as of June. SoftBank Group's board on Aug. 10 approved the early physical settlement of prepaid forward contracts, corresponding to about 242 million American depository receipts. After the settlement, SoftBank's stake in the Chinese e-commerce giant will fall to 14.6% from 23.7% as of the end of June.

SoftBank's T-Mobile US Inc. stake is seen as another likely target if the company decides to raise more cash through share sales.

As of Sept. 19, US$1 was equivalent to ¥143.25.