SoftBank Explores a Gulf-Backed AI Fund of Up to $100 Billion

SoftBank Group is exploring an artificial-intelligence investment fund of as much as $100 billion backed by capital from Gulf states, according to the Financial Times. The talks are an early-stage effort by founder Masayoshi Son to assemble another large pool for buying companies and applying AI to improve their operations.

The proposal would extend SoftBank’s shift back toward aggressive technology investment after a period of retrenchment following losses in its Vision Funds. Son has made AI the group’s central thesis, and the company completed a $30 billion investment in OpenAI last week. SoftBank also raised $11.1 billion in a high-yield bond sale last month, underscoring the scale of capital it is mobilising.

A $100 billion vehicle would rival the original Vision Fund, which was launched with major backing from Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. That precedent gives SoftBank experience assembling sovereign capital, but it also carries a warning: the first fund’s concentration in richly valued private companies produced severe losses when rates rose and technology valuations reset.

The reported strategy differs in an important respect. Rather than mainly supplying growth capital, the new vehicle could buy controlling or influential stakes and use AI to restructure acquired businesses. That approach resembles technology-enabled private equity. It could generate operating gains if SoftBank brings useful tools, data and management expertise, but it also increases execution risk because returns depend on changing companies rather than simply choosing winners.

For Gulf investors, the attraction is access to global AI assets and a route to diversify economies beyond hydrocarbons. Sovereign funds in the region have invested heavily in data centres, semiconductors and software. A SoftBank partnership could provide deal flow and technical relationships that are difficult to build quickly. It could also concentrate exposure to a technology cycle already characterised by exceptionally high valuations and enormous infrastructure spending.

The financing structure is unknown. SoftBank and prospective Gulf partners have not announced commitments, management fees, investment periods, governance rights or the split between equity and debt. SoftBank did not comment on the report, and Reuters could not independently verify it. The headline amount should therefore be treated as a fundraising ambition rather than secured capital.

The proposal also raises portfolio questions. SoftBank already has major AI exposure through OpenAI, Arm and other holdings. A new fund could create conflicts over which vehicle receives attractive deals, while additional borrowing could increase sensitivity to market volatility. Currency, political and national-security reviews would complicate cross-border acquisitions.

Why it matters

AI investment is moving from venture-scale financing toward sovereign and balance-sheet-scale capital formation. A $100 billion fund would reinforce the idea that access to models, chips, power and data infrastructure increasingly requires pools of capital once associated with national industrial policy.

The project is also a test of whether SoftBank can convert Son’s AI conviction into disciplined returns. Investors will need evidence of committed capital, governance and a differentiated operating strategy before treating the prospective fund as more than a very large plan.

Sources: Reuters · SoftBank Group investor relations