SoftBank Group Corp.’s Vision Fund has reportedly backed out of investment deals involving three startups, just months after one of its most important portfolio companies, WeWork parent We Co., dropped its plans for an initial public offering.

Axios reported that SoftBank walked away from investing in the three startups at an extremely late stage, having already submitted term sheets worth hundreds of million dollars.

Citing sources familiar with the dealings between SoftBank and startups Honor Technology Inc., Seismic Software Inc. and Creator, Axios said executives of the investment bank repeatedly delayed signing off on the investments before finally dropping them altogether. However, one source said talks with Creator are still ongoing.

A spokesperson for SoftBank later told CNBC that the Vision Fund’s investment process is “more rigorous” than that of typical venture capital investors.

“There have been a few cases where our process took longer than anticipated, which we regret,” the spokesperson said. “We’re always upfront with founders about what to expect and we try to keep them informed every step of the way.”

The decision to walk away from the investments indicates that SoftBank is employing a more cautious approach as it ramps up its second multibillion dollar Vision Fund. According to some sources, SoftBank Chief Executive Officer Masayoshi Son is now more focused on investing in profitable startups that can potentially go public, rather than companies that display rapid growth alone.

That caution is reflected in SoftBank’s changing plans for Vision Fund 2. The company originally planned to raise $108 billion for the fund, but is now looking at a significantly lower amount, Axios said.

The company is still engaged in talks with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and the Mubadala Investment Co. over both debt and equity investments. Axios said SoftBank is discussing a potential $15 billion investment with PIF, which would be significantly lower than the $45 billion it committed to Vision Fund 1.

“Certainly any investor having to digest losses like the ones that Softbank has accrued will pause and rethink,” said Constellation Research Inc. analyst Holger Mueller. “But Son is an experienced investor and knows when there is an opportunity and when to act fast on it. So I would not read too much into this. It’s possible that the investment dollars at Softbank’s Vision Fund are being turned over a few more times before a bet is being placed.”

The Vision Fund’s investments have come under scrutiny in recent months after WeWork abandoned its plans to go public amid criticism over its finances and its unconventional corporate governance structure. SoftBank has invested about $10.6 billion in WeWork overall.

Photo: MIKI Yoshihito/Flickr