Masayoshi Son is seeking to raise up to $100bn from Gulf investors to scale up a colossal AI bet that has already made him one of the technology’s biggest champions. Son has held discussions in recent weeks with senior figures, including in the United Arab Emirates, over the possible fundraising, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. The fundraising effort is the latest in a series of buccaneering AI bets by the Japanese billionaire, including a $65bn investment in Chat GPT maker Open AI.
As part of the possible Gulf fundraising, the SoftBank founder would use the money to set up a fund to buy companies and then use AI and other advanced technology to improve their operations, the people said. Roze, SoftBank’s robotics and physical AI business that Son hopes to take public at a lofty valuation, is expected to play a key role in this process. There is no guarantee the talks with Gulf investors will be successful, the people added.
In recent years, Gulf nations have deployed part of their vast wealth into the artificial intelligence sector to diversify their energy-dependent economies. Abu Dhabi, in particular, has emerged as one of the world’s biggest spenders on AI through vehicles such as the AI-focused fund MGX and AI holding company G42. Representatives for both companies did not respond to requests for comment. SoftBank declined to comment.
Son has previously turned to Gulf investors to write large cheques to back his ambitions. Mubadala, one of the UAE’s sovereign wealth funds, and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund invested in SoftBank’s first $100bn Vision Fund in 2017. Since its inception, the first Vision Fund has generated about $29bn in cumulative investment gains as of the end of June.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing