SoftBank Group is seeking to raise as much as $100 billion from Gulf investors to finance a new wave of artificial intelligence investments, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Founder Masayoshi Son has held preliminary discussions in recent weeks with senior figures, including in the United Arab Emirates, about the potential fundraising, which would support a fund to acquire companies and improve their operations using AI and advanced technologies.
The Japanese investment conglomerate plans to use the proposed fund to deploy AI systems and robotics to make businesses more efficient, the newspaper reported.
The fundraising effort comes as SoftBank deepens its commitment to OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, having completed a $30 billion investment in the company as part of its latest funding round.
SoftBank also raised $11.1 billion through a high-yield bond sale in September to help finance its OpenAI investment, adding to concerns about borrowing costs as the company expands its exposure to the AI sector.
The group has invested almost $65 billion in OpenAI, while the startup has delayed its initial public offering, increasing scrutiny of the pace of revenue growth and the potential returns from its AI spending.
SoftBank shares fell as much as 7.3% in Tokyo on Friday amid investor concerns about OpenAI’s growth.
Son previously secured nearly $100 billion in commitments for SoftBank’s first Vision Fund in 2017, with substantial backing from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala.
That fund produced mixed results, backing successful businesses such as ByteDance while suffering high-profile failures, including WeWork.
The latest fundraising would also come as Gulf economies face uncertainty from the prolonged Iran war, potentially complicating efforts to secure capital for Son’s ambitious investment plans.
SoftBank declined to comment on the reported fundraising.