SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son is reportedly seeking up to $100 billion from Gulf investors for a new fund that would acquire established companies and use AI and robotics to improve their operations. This differs from SoftBank's earlier Vision Funds, which mainly financed technology startups; the new model would buy businesses that have not yet adopted AI and apply those technologies to increase their value.
The fund's exact scope is unclear, including whether it would also finance development of Roze, SoftBank's robotics and physical AI division, which is expected to play a major role in transforming acquired companies. Son reportedly intends to eventually take Roze public at a substantial valuation, but the fund's establishment and financing are not guaranteed.
The initiative comes as SoftBank faces scrutiny over its roughly $65 billion commitment to OpenAI, which remains its key investment but is not yet highly profitable. SoftBank has financed its investments through internal resources, external capital, and borrowing partly secured by its Arm holdings. Last month it raised over $11 billion in the largest junk bond issuance on record, with yields at 9.75%. As of June, its net asset value was about ¥72.3 trillion ($456.57 billion) and its loan-to-value ratio was 13%, below its 25% limit, but a decline in tech valuations could pressure that ratio.
Son has previously drawn large sums from Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds; Saudi Arabia's PIF and Abu Dhabi's Mubadala backed the original $100 billion Vision Fund in 2017. Vision Fund 1 has accumulated about $29 billion in investment gains, while Vision Fund 2, which holds the OpenAI stake, has generated $20.5 billion as of June. Abu Dhabi has also expanded its AI investments through MGX and G42. Son's record includes Alibaba's success and WeWork's bankruptcy, leaving the outcome of this strategy uncertain.