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

Oct 9 (Reuters) SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son is seeking to raise up to $100 billion from Gulf ​investors to fund a ‌new wave of AI investments, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. Son has held ‌discussions ​in recent weeks with ⁠senior figures, including ⁠in the United Arab Emirates, about the potential fundraising, the report said. Reuters couldn t immediately verify the ​report. SoftBank did not respond to a request for comment. The move ⁠comes as Son ⁠ramps up AI bets, ​with the company announcing last week that ​it completed its $30 billion investment in ‌OpenAI as part of its commitment to the ChatGPT maker s last fundraising round. SoftBank also raised $11.1 billion last month ⁠in the largest high-yield corporate bond sale globally to fund its mammoth bet ⁠on ‌OpenAI. The Japanese investment conglomerate would ⁠use the proceeds to ​establish ‌a fund that would ​acquire companies ⁠and improve their operations using AI and other adv