SoftBank seeks up to $100 billion from Gulf investors for AI fund, FT reports

SoftBank Group chief executive Masayoshi Son is seeking up to $100 billion from Gulf investors for a new wave of artificial intelligence investments, Reuters reported on October 9, citing the Financial Times. The proposed fundraising would support company acquisitions, extending Son’s AI investment ambitions beyond SoftBank’s recent financing for OpenAI.

Son has held discussions in recent weeks with senior figures, including in the United Arab Emirates, according to the FT account, which cited people familiar with the matter. The money would establish a fund to acquire companies and seek to improve their operations using AI and other advanced technologies.

The proposal remains an attributed report rather than a confirmed fundraising agreement. Reuters said it could not immediately verify the FT report and that SoftBank had not responded to its request for comment. Its account does not establish that Gulf investors have committed money.

What the reported Gulf fund would do

The reported strategy combines acquisitions with changes to how the purchased businesses operate. AI and other advanced technologies would be tools for those changes, according to the FT account carried by Reuters. Any operational improvements are therefore an investment intention, rather than results demonstrated by the report.

SoftBank’s OpenAI investment provides the financing context

The discussions follow a separate, substantial AI investment commitment. Reuters reported that SoftBank announced the previous week that it had completed its $30 billion investment in OpenAI as part of its commitment to the ChatGPT maker’s latest fundraising round. That completion is reported through Reuters’ account of the company’s announcement.

SoftBank’s September 24 senior-notes disclosure documents how it planned to finance the final portion of that commitment. The company set terms for approximately $11.1 billion of notes, comprising $10 billion denominated in dollars and €1 billion denominated in euros.

The stated uses of the proceeds were to fund the final $10 billion tranche of SoftBank’s $30 billion OpenAI follow-on investment commitment, entered into in February 2026, and for general corporate purposes. The disclosure expected that OpenAI payment to close on October 1.

That September timetable was forward-looking when published. The same disclosure listed September 29 as the expected note issuance date; a terms announcement alone does not certify settlement. Reuters’ October 9 account separately supplies the later report that SoftBank had announced completion of the OpenAI investment.

The borrowing terms behind the AI investment

The dollar financing was divided into three maturities: $1 billion due in 2030, $4.5 billion due in 2032 and $4.5 billion due in 2034. Their respective annual interest rates were 8.625%, 9.250% and 9.750%, with interest payable twice a year.

SoftBank listed no collateral or guarantee for the dollar notes and ratings of BB+ from both S&P and Fitch. The euro notes carried annual interest rates of 7.125% and 8%, with maturities in 2030 and 2032 respectively. These are disclosed borrowing terms, separate from the unannounced terms of any Gulf fund.

Alongside the note financing, SoftBank said it expected to cancel $10 billion of remaining undrawn capacity under a $40 billion bridge facility entered into in March 2026. That statement described an expected cancellation of unused borrowing capacity, rather than an additional investment commitment.

What remains unconfirmed about Gulf fundraising

SoftBank’s financing disclosure establishes the company’s documented OpenAI funding plans; it does not confirm the Gulf proposal. The reported talks leave unresolved who would invest, what businesses a fund would buy and whether the fundraising would reach the stated maximum. Reuters’ account records no binding commitments or completed fund launch.