SoftBank seeks $100 billion from Gulf investors for AI push
The proposed fund would buy companies and use AI and robotics to run them, the Financial Times reports.
Published
SoftBank is seeking up to $100 billion from Gulf investors to expand its bet on artificial intelligence, according to the Financial Times.
The proposed fund would acquire companies and apply AI and robotics to improve how they operate, the Financial Times reported.
The approach follows talks founder Masayoshi Son held with senior figures in the UAE in recent weeks. Terms remain unresolved. It is not yet clear whether any Gulf partners have agreed to participate, or whether the capital would take the form of equity or debt, and at what level of SoftBank's structure, according to Newsquawk.
A target of this size goes well beyond the exploratory UAE talks reported earlier this week. It points to a shift from debt toward equity-style capital, after a jumbo bond sale and an expanded credit line this year. SoftBank's commitments since completing its pledge to OpenAI appear too large for debt alone to cover, and Gulf capital raised as equity would ease the leverage concerns that have built since the credit line was expanded. Whether $100 billion materialises, and on what terms, will determine how far SoftBank can keep stretching its balance sheet without new debt or dilution.