The SoftBank Vision Fund said on Saturday it has raised US$93 billion from investors that include Japan’s SoftBank Group, the Public Investment Fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Mubadala Investment company to invest in technology companies.
Other investors include Apple, Foxconn, Qualcomm and Sharp. The fund did not give a breakdown of contributions.
“Technology has the potential to address the biggest challenges and risks facing humanity today. The businesses working to solve these problems will require patient long-term capital and visionary strategic investment partners with the resources to nurture their success,” said Masayoshi Son, the chairman and chief executive of SoftBank Group.
“The SoftBank Vision Fund … will help build and grow businesses creating the foundational platforms of the next stage of the information revolution.”
SoftBank unveiled 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. The fund is aiming to reach $100bn in investments in the next six months. At that size, it would be almost five-times larger than the current biggest private equity fund, Blackstone Group’s Blackstone Capital Partners V. Tokyo-based SoftBank has already agreed to invest at least $25bn. Saudi Arabia may put in as much as $45bn over the next five years.
Separately, Mubadala confirmed it made a $15bn commitment to the Softbank Vision Fund. The Abu Dhabi fund is no stranger to investing in technology companies such as AMD, a Nasdaq-listed firm known for developing computer processors, and Global Foundries, the second-largest semiconductor foundry company in the world.
“Our participation in the SoftBank Vision Fund perfectly complements Mubadala’s strategy as a long-term global investor and partner to the technology sector’s high-growth companies,” said Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the chief executive of Mubadala.
“Technology and innovation are central to the UAE’s economic diversification strategy, and we believe the Vision Fund has the scale to deploy significant capital into these disruptive industries that are shaping the future.”
mkassem@thenational.ae
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