SoftBank's Son Is Seeking Up to $100 Billion From Gulf Investors for a Fund to Buy Companies and Run Them With AI, FT Reports

Masayoshi Son is reportedly looking for a new pool of money, this time for a fund that would buy companies and run them with AI. The Financial Times reported on Friday, October 9, citing people familiar with the matter, that the SoftBank Group chief executive is seeking to raise up to $100 billion from Gulf investors to fund a new wave of AI investments.

What the FT reported, as relayed

We could not read the FT's article; it was blocked when we tried to open it. What follows comes from two outlets that relay it:

• Reuters (via CNA): Son "is seeking to raise up to $100 billion from Gulf investors to fund a new wave of AI investments." He has held discussions in recent weeks with senior figures, including in the United Arab Emirates, about the potential fundraising. SoftBank would use the proceeds to establish a fund "that would acquire companies and improve their operations using AI and other advanced technologies," according to the report.
• Bloomberg: SoftBank "seeks to raise as much as $100 billion from Gulf investors to help it amp up its bets on AI," the FT reported, citing people familiar with the matter. We saw only Bloomberg's headline and summary.

Reuters said it could not immediately verify the report, and SoftBank did not respond to Reuters' request for comment. Neither relay names a Gulf investor, a commitment from any of them, a fund structure or a timetable.

Where SoftBank's money has gone lately

Reuters places the report against two recent moves. Last week SoftBank said it had completed its $30 billion investment in OpenAI as part of the ChatGPT maker's last funding round, which we covered on October 1. Last month SoftBank also raised $11.1 billion in what Reuters called the largest high-yield corporate bond sale globally, to fund that OpenAI bet.

If it comes together, a fund that buys companies and reworks them with AI would be a different kind of bet from those two: its returns would depend on running acquired businesses better, not on the value of a stake in a model lab. On what has been reported so far, it is a fundraising effort in talks, not a launched fund.

Limits

• The FT report could not be opened (HTTP 403). Its contents come from Reuters' write-up, read in full via CNA, and from Bloomberg's headline and summary only. Both relay the FT, so they are not independent confirmation.
• SoftBank has not commented. No investor names, commitments, fund terms or timing appear in either relay, and none are given here.

Sources

• CNA (Reuters): SoftBank seeks up to $100 billion from Gulf investors for AI push, FT reports (October 9, 2026)
• Bloomberg: SoftBank Seeks $100 Billion From Gulf States for AI, FT Says (October 9, 2026; headline and summary only)
• Times of AI: SoftBank Closes $30B OpenAI Follow-On — Final $10B Tranche, ~13% Stake, Bridge Gone