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The proposed fund would apply AI and robotics to acquired businesses. Investor discussions remain preliminary, with no financing announced.
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SoftBank is reportedly exploring a new acquisition fund that would use AI and robotics to improve the operations of companies it buys, extending Masayoshi Son’s investment strategy beyond backing startups. The proposed fundraising target is as much as $100 billion, but the money is not secured and discussions with Gulf investors are described as preliminary. Reuters said it could not verify the Financial Times report; SoftBank did not comment. The plan’s scale echoes Son’s 2017 Vision Fund fundraising, though that fund had both major successes and high-profile losses.
Son has reportedly held recent discussions with senior figures in the United Arab Emirates about potential fundraising.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala were major backers of the first Vision Fund.
The first Vision Fund secured nearly $100 billion in commitments in 2017 and backed both ByteDance and WeWork.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son is seeking up to $100 billion from Gulf investors for a fund that would buy companies and improve their operations with AI and other advanced technologies. The Financial Times reported the effort on October 9, 2026, citing people familiar with the matter, according to Reuters. The proposal puts business acquisitions at the center of the investment strategy.
Son has held discussions in recent weeks with senior figures, including in the United Arab Emirates, about the potential fundraising. Proactive, citing the Financial Times, described those conversations as preliminary. The reported outreach concerns a new investment fund, with Gulf investors being approached to supply its capital.
Reuters could not immediately verify the Financial Times report, and SoftBank did not respond to its request for comment. Proactive later reported that SoftBank declined to comment. The $100 billion is a fundraising target, not money already secured.
AI systems and robotics would be among the tools deployed to make the acquired businesses more efficient, according to Proactive’s account of the Financial Times reporting. The intended use of technology is operational: improving how the businesses run after the fund acquires them.
Son previously secured nearly $100 billion in commitments for SoftBank’s first Vision Fund in 2017.
Gulf backing has played a substantial role in Son’s fundraising before. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala were major backers of the first Vision Fund. That history provides a concrete precedent for seeking investment from the region, though the current discussions concern a proposed new fund.
The first Vision Fund’s investment record was mixed. It backed successful businesses such as ByteDance while suffering high-profile failures, including WeWork. Those outcomes form the historical backdrop to Son’s latest reported effort to assemble a large pool of investment capital.
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