SoftBank unveils investment fund to drive 'AI revolution'

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Japan's SoftBank group plans to partner with tech firms including Apple and Microsoft in a new $108-billion investment fund to accelerate the 'AI revolution.'

SOFTBANK. This picture taken on November 23, 2018 shows people walking in front of a shop of Japan's telecoms giant SoftBank in Tokyo. Photo by Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP

SoftBank Group itself will plough $38 billion into the new fund, which will also include investments from Apple, Microsoft, Foxconn, a range of Japanese banks, Standard Chartered, and the National Bank of Kazakhstan. The announcement of Vision Fund 2 made no mention of Saudi Arabia among the investors, though reports ahead of the announcement suggested Riyadh was in negotiations to put money into the fund.The Japanese firm's strong ties with the kingdom came under scrutiny after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Reports suggest both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are considering investing in the new fund, though possibly with smaller stakes than last time. "I don't want to be number two... I have not been able to accept that ever since I was a child," said the flamboyant tycoon."It's an attractive growth sector as digitalization has been under way globally and rapidly," Yosuke Nakamura, a researcher at NLI Research Institute, told AFP.

"There is excessive money around... Even if they can find an investment, it could be at an overvalued price. That could be a risk for them once the economy goes downhill."

 

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SoftBank Group announces new $108-billion investment fund
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