TOKYO, Oct. 11, 2026 | SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son is seeking up to $100 billion from Gulf investors to fund a new wave of AI investments, the Financial Times reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. SoftBank declined to comment, and Reuters said it could not immediately verify the report.
Son has held preliminary talks in recent weeks with senior figures, including in the United Arab Emirates, according to the FT. “There is no guarantee the discussions will lead to a deal,” the report said, as quoted by Investing.com via Yahoo Finance. The proposed fund would acquire companies and use AI and other advanced technologies to improve their operations. Roze, SoftBank’s robotics and physical AI business, is expected to play a key role, per the FT as relayed by Investing.com.
The OpenAI Backdrop
The fundraising effort follows a heavy commitment to OpenAI. SoftBank said last week it had completed a $30 billion investment as part of OpenAI’s latest funding round, and it has invested almost $65 billion in the ChatGPT maker in total, according to Yahoo Finance. To help pay for that commitment, SoftBank raised $11.1 billion in September in the largest high-yield corporate bond sale globally, with yields reaching 9.75%.
OpenAI has delayed its IPO, which has increased scrutiny of its revenue growth and potential returns. SoftBank shares fell as much as 7.3% in Tokyo on Friday amid investor concerns about OpenAI’s growth, per Yahoo Finance.
A Familiar Source of Capital
Gulf money is not new to Son. In 2017 he secured nearly $100 billion in commitments for the first Vision Fund, with major backing from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala. The record was mixed, with ByteDance among the successes and WeWork among the high-profile failures.
This time the pitch differs. The reported plan is to buy companies and run them with AI and robotics, rather than invest in startups. Yahoo Finance notes that Gulf economies face uncertainty from the prolonged Iran war, which could complicate fundraising. For now, the figure is a target in early talks, not a closed fund.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is SoftBank seeking from Gulf investors?
SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son is seeking up to $100 billion from Gulf investors, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Talks are early, including meetings in the UAE, and there is no guarantee they will lead to a deal.
What would the SoftBank fund do?
The fund would acquire companies and use AI and other advanced technologies to improve their operations, with SoftBank’s robotics and physical AI unit Roze expected to play a key role, according to the FT’s reporting.