This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
SoftBank Group Corp. (SFTBY, Financials), the Japanese technology investment conglomerate, is reportedly seeking as much as $100 billion from Gulf investors as CEO Masayoshi Son looks for more firepower to expand the company’s artificial intelligence bets.
Son has discussed a possible fundraiser with key authorities, particularly in the United Arab Emirates, in recent weeks, the newspaper said.The move would signify yet another big escalation in SoftBank’s AI agenda. It closed a $30 billion investment in OpenAI last week in the latest financing round for the creator of ChatGPT. SoftBank this month sold high-yield corporate bonds, raising $11.1 billion to help fund its OpenAI investment.The planned extra funds would purportedly be used to set up a fund that buys firms and uses AI and other innovative technology to improve their operations.For investors, the potential carries a classic SoftBank question: how much financial risk is the business willing to take to win the next technological cycle?Bringing in outside cash might offer Son a lot more headroom to chase deals without having to put the full load on SoftBank’s financial sheet. But a $100 billion fund would raise expectations for dealmaking and investment returns.SoftBank has not acknowledged the funding negotiations and they could not be independently verified, the newspaper said.The next trigger is whether SoftBank gets pledges from Gulf investors and how much of the anticipated $100 billion fund materializes.
https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/softbank-seeks-100-billion-ai-123029858.html?shem=aimgspe,
