INVESTMENT
Softbank and Saudi fund aim at robotics
The world’s largest private equity fund with Saudi Arabia’s main sovereign wealth fund raise more than $93bn for artificial intelligence development
Riyadh — The world’s largest private equity fund, backed by Japan’s Softbank Group and Saudi Arabia’s main sovereign wealth fund, says it has raised more than $93bn to invest in technology sectors such as artificial intelligence and robotics. "The next stage of the information revolution is under way and building the businesses that will make this possible will require unprecedented large-scale, long-term investment," said the Softbank Vision Fund. Japanese billionaire Masayoshi Son, chairman of Softbank, a telecommunications and technology investment group, revealed plans for the fund in October 2016 and since then, it has obtained commitments from some of the world’s most deep-pocketed investors. In addition to Softbank and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the fund’s investors include Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment, which has committed $15bn, Apple, Qualcomm, Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology and Japan’s Sharp. The new fund made its announcement during the visit of President Dona...
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