SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son is seeking to raise as much as $100 billion from Gulf investors to finance an ambitious artificial intelligence investment strategy, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the discussions.
Son has held talks in recent weeks with senior figures, including in the United Arab Emirates, about the potential fundraising, the FT said. There is no guarantee the discussions will lead to a deal, it reported.
The Japanese billionaire plans to use the money to establish a fund that would acquire companies and improve their operations using AI and other advanced technologies. Roze, SoftBank’s robotics and physical AI business, is expected to play a key role in the strategy, the report said.
The fundraising would expand Son’s exposure to AI following SoftBank’s $65 billion investment in OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, amid concerns about the scale of its commitments and a delay to OpenAI’s long-anticipated initial public offering.
SoftBank has increasingly relied on borrowing to finance its AI ambitions, completing a record junk bond offering of more than $11 billion last month, with yields reaching 9.75%.
