SoftBank Group Corp. is close to announcing commitments of as much as $95 billion for its technology fund, people familiar with the matter said.
The fundraising close will be announced as soon as next week, said the people, asking not to be identified as the information is private. A representative for Tokyo-based SoftBank declined to comment.
CEO Masayoshi Son's investment pool has attracted interest from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, officials of which said it would consider putting in as much as $45 billion, as well as technology giants such as Apple Inc. and Qualcomm Inc., which have also said they'll participate. Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Development Co. is also considering committing as much as $15 billion, people familiar with the matter said previously.
SoftBank plans to contribute at least $25 billion of its own capital in the next five years, as well. The Japanese company announced plans for the Vision Fund last year, aiming to create a vehicle that would become one of the biggest technology investors over the next decade. SoftBank has agreed to spend more than $30 billion on technology companies itself in the last 12 months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Its largest deal was the acquisition of Cambridge, England-based chip designer ARM Holdings last year. The firm has also invested in cybersecurity, gaming and cloud computing.
