SoftBank Seeks $100 Billion From Gulf Investors for AI, FT Says

SoftBank Group Corp. seeks to raise as much as $100 billion from Gulf investors to help it amp up its bets on AI, the Financial Times said.

Founder Masayoshi Son has held initial talks with investors including in the United Arab Emirates, the newspaper said citing people familiar with the matter. The proposed fund would buy companies and use AI and robotics to improve operations, it said.

A successful fundraise would give Son fresh capital after SoftBank invested $65 billion into OpenAI. SoftBank previously tapped sovereign investors in the Middle East for its first $100 billion Vision Fund.