SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son is in preliminary talks with Gulf officials to raise up to $100 billion for a new AI fund, according to the Financial Times. SoftBank has not confirmed the talks. The reported plan targets established companies rather than model builders.
Masayoshi Son is in preliminary talks with senior officials from Gulf nations, particularly the United Arab Emirates, to raise up to $100 billion for a new artificial intelligence fund. The Financial Times reported the talks on October 9, 2026. SoftBank has not officially confirmed them.
A fund for established companies
The fund would not chase the next hot model builder. Its reported goal is to acquire established companies and improve them with AI and other advanced technologies.
Roze, SoftBank's own robotics unit, is central to the plan. The fund is designed to target non-tech companies and optimize them using AI and robotics from Roze.
OpenAI spending continues
The push comes days after SoftBank finished another large commitment. On October 1, 2026, it completed the final $10 billion tranche of a $30 billion follow-on investment in OpenAI.
That brought SoftBank's cumulative investment in OpenAI to approximately $64.6–65 billion, or roughly 13% ownership. In September 2026, SoftBank raised $11.1 billion in what was the largest high-yield corporate bond sale globally, earmarked for its OpenAI commitment.
Critics have pointed to SoftBank's concentration risk, the delayed payoff from a potential OpenAI initial public offering, and the company's rising debt load.
Gulf money returns
Gulf capital is not new for Son. His 2017 Vision Fund raised nearly $100 billion, drawing heavily on Gulf sovereign wealth funds including Saudi Arabia's PIF and Abu Dhabi's Mubadala. That fund produced some high-profile gains alongside significant losses.
Bloomberg framed the new ambition as a signal that the AI boom has entered its late stage. Signals to track include official confirmation from SoftBank, which Gulf investors commit, and how much of the fund materializes.
Source: Crypto Briefing
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