SoftBank Considers Investment in Delivery Startup goPuff

SoftBank recently has been in discussions to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in on-demand delivery startup goPuff, three people familiar with the matter said. A deal would raise the profile of goPuff, which delivers beer cases, Juul pods and munchies largely to college students.

If completed, the deal also would raise new questions about potential conflicts of interest for SoftBank, whose portfolio already includes investments in food-delivery firm DoorDash and Uber, which operates food delivery business UberEats. For that reason, the deal has been controversial internally at the Vision Fund, raising objections from SoftBank managing partner and DoorDash board member Jeff Housenbold, one of the people said. It’s unclear if SoftBank would invest through the Vision Fund—its $100 billion tech investment arm—or other vehicles.