SoftBank seeks $100bn from Gulf investors to fuel massive AI expansion bet

SoftBank Pursues Massive Gulf Fundraising for AI Expansion

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son is seeking to raise up to $100bn from Gulf investors to fuel his ambitious AI investment strategy, according to the Financial Times1

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. The Japanese billionaire has held discussions in recent weeks with senior figures, including in the United Arab Emirates, about the potential fundraising2

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. There is no guarantee the talks will be successful, people familiar with the matter cautioned.

The proposed AI-focused investment fund would acquire companies and enhance operations using AI and advanced technology, with SoftBank's robotics and physical AI business Roze expected to play a key role in this process3

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. This fundraising effort represents the latest in a series of buccaneering AI bets by Son, who has positioned himself at the center of the AI industry.

OpenAI Investment and Growing Financial Pressure

The fundraising push comes as SoftBank grapples with mounting concerns over its massive AI exposure, particularly its $65 billion investment in OpenAI1

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. SoftBank completed its $30 billion investment in the ChatGPT maker as part of OpenAI's last fundraising round2

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. However, OpenAI's delayed initial public offering and recent revenue concerns have created uncertainty around SoftBank's AI ambitions.

SoftBank shares dropped as much as 7.3% in Tokyo following reports that OpenAI's annualized revenue was approximately $20 billion lower than the company had signaled3

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. The stock fell 5% on Friday and has declined more than 30% since peaking in June, when it briefly became Japan's most valuable company1

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. Despite the market volatility, SoftBank's share price remains up 25% this year.

Borrowing Strategy and Financial Positioning

SoftBank has increasingly relied on borrowing to finance its AI expansion. Last month, the company completed the largest high-yield bond offering on record globally, raising more than $11 billion with yields reaching as high as 9.75%1

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. The company's loan-to-value ratio stood at 13% at the end of June, well below the 25% ceiling targeted during normal operations, with net asset value at ¥72.3 trillion.

Senior SoftBank figures maintain that short-term movements in OpenAI's valuation or other large portfolio companies will not disrupt investment plans. However, analysts warn that a fall in OpenAI's valuation could prove problematic given how much of SoftBank's investments are linked either directly to the ChatGPT maker or AI more broadly. "A contagion effect could get quite bad, quite quickly," said one Asia-based analyst1

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Gulf States' AI Investment Track Record

This isn't the first time Masayoshi Son has turned to Gulf investors for substantial backing. In 2017, Mubadala, one of the UAE's sovereign wealth funds, and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund invested in SoftBank's first $100 billion Vision Fund1

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. Since inception, the first Vision Fund has generated approximately $29 billion in cumulative investment gains as of the end of June, while Vision Fund 2, which contains the OpenAI stake, has generated $20.5 billion.

Abu Dhabi has emerged as one of the world's biggest spenders on AI through vehicles such as the AI-focused fund MGX and AI holding company G421

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. In 2025, SoftBank announced a $500 billion data center project in the U.S. in partnership with OpenAI, Oracle, and Abu Dhabi's state-backed AI investment firm MGX, though that endeavor has yet to yield material progress3

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What This Means for AI Investment Landscape

The potential $100 billion fundraising would come at a critical juncture for the AI boom, which has powered Wall Street stocks to record highs and ignited an investment frenzy. Anthropic, the maker of Claude and OpenAI's arch-rival, is expected to launch a potentially record-breaking IPO in coming weeks1

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. OpenAI itself is in talks with investment funds including MGX to help anchor a new $30 billion financing round at a valuation of around $1.4 trillion3

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SoftBank also plans to take Roze public in the U.S., while unit SB Energy, tasked with building an 8.8-gigawatt data center facility in Ohio, is preparing to list on the Nasdaq3

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. These moves signal Son's continued conviction in AI despite growing skepticism. In July, Son dismissed critics, saying "those who condemn AI are themselves spitting upwards," though he later acknowledged that if AI were used by "bad" actors it could "become super dangerous"1

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The success of this fundraising effort will test whether Gulf investors maintain their appetite for massive AI bets amid regional economic concerns, including the ongoing Iran conflict entering its eighth month. Son's ability to deliver on promises will be scrutinized, particularly given his mixed track record that includes spectacular successes like Alibaba alongside high-profile failures such as WeWork, which filed for bankruptcy in late 20231

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