SoftBank seeks up to $100B from Gulf investors for AI push

On October 9, 2026, Bloomberg Technology reported, citing the Financial Times, that SoftBank Group is seeking to raise as much as $100 billion from Gulf investors to expand its bets on AI. The report did not say whether the fundraising had been completed or where the money would go. The same day, 36Kr, citing Sina Finance, said SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has held in-depth discussions in recent weeks with senior figures in the Gulf region, including the UAE, about setting up a new fund with the proceeds. According to that account, the fund would work differently from previous vehicles: SoftBank would directly acquire traditional or technology companies and then use advanced AI to reshape their business operations. No formal announcement has been made. Techmeme also relayed the Financial Times report, noting that Son met with senior UAE figures in recent weeks and that the fund would buy companies and improve their operations with AI and other advanced technology.

Wallstreetcn and IT之家 added further details, both attributing the information to people familiar with the matter cited by the Financial Times. They put the target at up to $100 billion for a fund that would acquire companies and use AI and other technologies to improve their operations, with Roze, SoftBank's robotics and physical AI business, expected to play a key role. The sources stressed that talks with Gulf investors are not guaranteed to succeed. IT之家 also noted that Son had previously invested $65 billion in OpenAI and hopes to take Roze public at a high valuation.

On the backdrop, Wallstreetcn said the fundraising comes as SoftBank faces multiple pressures: OpenAI has delayed its IPO, concerns about SoftBank's heavy AI exposure continue to build, and SoftBank's share price has fallen more than 30% from its June peak. The report added that this is not the first time Son has sought large-scale support from the Gulf. In 2017, the UAE sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) both backed SoftBank's first Vision Fund, which reached $100 billion. As of the end of June this year, Vision Fund 1 had generated about $29 billion in cumulative investment gains, while Vision Fund 2, funded mainly by SoftBank's own capital and holding a stake in OpenAI, had recorded $20.5 billion in gains. So far, none of the reports indicate that the fundraising has been complete