SoftBank's Masayoshi Son Reportedly Seeks $100 Billion Gulf Fund for AI Expansion
SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son is negotiating with Gulf investors to raise up to $100 billion for a new investment fund focused on acquiring traditional companies and enhancing their operations through AI. Additionally, SoftBank is preparing a high-valuation IPO for Roze, its physical AI and robotics venture. The ambitious fundraising plan highlights Masayoshi Son's aggressive bid to control physical and enterprise AI deployment at an unprecedented scale. However, it also heightens market anxiety over SoftBank's substantial financial leverage and concentrated exposure to AI tech valuations. SoftBank recently raised over $11 billion by issuing high-yield bonds with rates up to 9.75%, backed by its corporate balance sheet and its stake in chip designer Arm. The prospective $100 billion vehicle mirrors SoftBank's 2017 Vision Fund 1 structure, which relied heavily on capital from Gulf sovereign wealth funds like Saudi Arabia's PIF and UAE's Mubadala.
## BACKGROUND
SoftBank Group is a Japanese multinational investment conglomerate known for pioneering massive venture bets, achieving high-profile wins like Alibaba alongside notable losses like WeWork. Physical AI refers to artificial intelligence integrated with physical hardware—such as autonomous robots, actuators, and sensors—enabling AI models to perceive, plan, and perform physical tasks in the real world.