据《金融时报》（FT）援引知情人士消息，软银集团正寻求从海湾地区投资者处筹集高达1000亿美元的资金，以加大其在人工智能（AI）领域的投资力度。
SoftBank Group seeks to raise as much as $100 billion from Gulf investors to help it amp up its bets on artificial intelligence (AI), the Financial Times (FT) reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
该报称，创始人孙正义已与潜在投资者进行了初步会谈，其中包括来自阿拉伯联合酋长国的投资者。《金融时报》指出，该拟议基金将收购公司，并利用人工智能和机器（包括软银机器人部门Roze的产品）来优化运营。
Founder Masayoshi Son has held early talks with potential investors including those in the United Arab Emirates, the newspaper said. The proposed fund would buy companies and use AI and machines, including from SoftBank’s robotics arm Roze, to improve operations, the FT said.
如此规模的融资将推动这家科技投资公司进一步增加支出。此前，在OpenAI尚未公开上市前，该公司已向其投资了近650亿美元。与此同时，这家日本企业正面临不断上升的借贷成本，而ChatGPT的开发者则推迟了首次公开募股。尽管如此，孙正义仍预测，人工智能的进步将带来巨大的投资回报，尤其是在能够操控现实世界物体的机器人领域。
Fundraising of that scale would fuel more spending by the tech investment firm, which has invested almost $65 billion in OpenAI ahead of the AI lab’s public debut. The Japanese company is grappling with growing borrowing costs, while the ChatGPT-developer has pushed back its initial public offering. Still, Son has forecast big investment returns from AI advances, including in the realm of machines that manipulate real-world objects.
软银方面拒绝发表评论。周五，受OpenAI收入增长速度担忧的影响，软银股价在东京一度下跌7.3%。
A SoftBank representative declined to comment. SoftBank shares dropped as much as 7.3% in Tokyo on Friday, weighed by concerns over the pace of OpenAI’s revenue growth.
孙正义一直试图将自己置于人工智能行业的核心位置，并在过去多年里成功地在国内外筹集了数十亿美元，以实现其愿景。
The SoftBank chief has sought to position himself at the center of the AI industry, and for years had been able to raise billions of dollars at home and abroad to fulfill his vision.
但如今，孙正义正试图从受伊朗战争威胁、经济面临收缩风险的地区获取更多资本。这场战争目前已进入第八个月。2017年，这位企业家为第一支愿景基金获得了近1000亿美元的投资承诺，其中大部分来自沙特阿拉伯公共投资基金和阿布扎比的穆巴达拉投资公司。然而，这支基金自成立以来的表现喜忧参半：既投资了字节跳动等成功企业，也遭遇了WeWork等备受瞩目的失败项目。
But Son is now trying to get more capital from a region grappling with the threat of economic contraction from the Iran war, now entering its eighth month. In 2017, the entrepreneur obtained commitments of nearly $100 billion for the first Vision Fund, much of which came from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala. That first vehicle’s had a mixed record since, backing winners such as ByteDance but also high-profile flameouts like WeWork.
软银需要向投资者保证，其能够兑现承诺。2025年，该公司宣布与美国OpenAI、Oracle以及阿布扎比国有AI投资公司MGX合作，在美国启动一个价值5000亿美元的数据中心项目。然而，该项目至今尚未取得实质性进展。
SoftBank would need to assure investors it can deliver on promises. In 2025, the company announced a $500 billion data center project in the U.S. in partnership with OpenAI, Oracle and Abu Dhabi’s state-backed AI investment firm MGX. That endeavor has yet to yield material progress.
任何融资活动都将与OpenAI寻求新一轮融资的努力同步进行，后者希望以约1.4万亿美元的估值筹集另外300亿美元。该公司正在与包括MGX在内的投资基金进行谈判，以支持这一轮融资。
Any fundraising would coincide with OpenAI’s efforts to raise another $30 billion in a new financing at a valuation of around $1.4 trillion. The firm is in talks with investment funds including MGX to help anchor the round.
软银还计划在美国将Roze上市。其子公司SB Energy负责在俄亥俄州建设一个8.8吉瓦的数据中心设施，目前也正准备在纳斯达克上市。
SoftBank also plans to take Roze public in the U.S. Unit SB Energy, which is tasked with building an 8.8-gigawatt data center facility in Ohio, is also preparing to list on the Nasdaq.