SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son is seeking to raise as much as $100 billion from Gulf-region investors for a new fund focused on acquiring companies and upgrading their operations with artificial intelligence and advanced technologies, according to a Financial Times report.

What Happened

On October 9, 2026, the Financial Times reported that Son has held discussions in recent weeks with senior figures, including in the United Arab Emirates, about the potential fundraising. The proposed vehicle would acquire companies and improve their operations using AI and other advanced technologies. SoftBank’s robotics and physical-AI unit, Roze, is expected to play a central role.

Reuters could not independently verify the report. SoftBank did not respond to a request for comment. Talks are described as early-stage, with no guarantee they will result in commitments.

Details

The pitch follows SoftBank’s completion of a $30 billion investment in OpenAI as part of its commitment to the ChatGPT maker’s latest fundraising round. SoftBank has invested nearly $65 billion in OpenAI overall. Last month, the company raised $11.1 billion in what Reuters described as the largest high-yield corporate bond sale globally to help fund the OpenAI stake.

The strategy would differ from SoftBank’s earlier approach of primarily backing technology startups. Instead, the fund would take ownership of established businesses and deploy AI, robotics, and other tools to modernize them and capture valuation upside.

Roze, which Son has indicated he hopes to take public in the United States at a substantial valuation, would supply capabilities for transforming acquired companies. SoftBank also plans a Nasdaq listing for its SB Energy unit, which is building an 8.8-gigawatt data-center facility in Ohio.

Why It Matters

The scale matches the roughly $100 billion SoftBank secured for its first Vision Fund in 2017, much of it from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala. That vehicle posted mixed results, backing successes such as ByteDance alongside high-profile setbacks including WeWork.

Gulf sovereign wealth is already a major source of AI capital. Abu Dhabi vehicles such as MGX and G42 have been active spenders. Any successful raise would coincide with OpenAI’s reported efforts to raise additional capital at a valuation around $1.4 trillion, with MGX among those in talks to anchor a round.

For SoftBank, the approach would shift more risk and capital needs to outside limited partners while expanding its AI deployment footprint beyond pure software bets into operational improvements at acquired companies.

Context and Impact

SoftBank faces rising borrowing costs and investor scrutiny over its concentrated OpenAI exposure, particularly as the AI lab’s IPO has been delayed. Senior SoftBank figures have said short-term swings in OpenAI’s valuation will not alter plans, according to reporting.

A new Gulf-backed vehicle of this size would represent one of the largest private capital raises oriented around AI application and robotics. Actual outcomes depend on whether talks convert to commitments and on execution at the companies acquired.

What Next

Observers will watch for any confirmation from SoftBank or named investors, details on fund structure or target companies, and progress on Roze’s potential public listing. Related developments include OpenAI’s next financing round and SoftBank’s ongoing capital-raising activities.

TechPulse Takeaway

The report points to Son returning to a familiar Gulf capital source for a different playbook: buy established businesses and retool them with AI and robotics rather than solely funding pure-play startups. At present it remains an early-stage fundraising target reported by the FT, not a completed raise, and SoftBank has not confirmed the plan.

Sources