ORACLE founder Larry Ellison will join Apple, Qualcomm and Foxconn in backing SoftBank's record-setting technology fund, allowing the Japanese telecoms group to hit its $100 billion goal weeks ahead of schedule, a news report in the Financial Times has revealed. Al Arabiya reported Thursday that the fund is being set up by Japan's SoftBank Group Corp and the Saudi Public Investment Fund with as much as a total of $ 100 billion. According to the FT report, those briefed about the negotiations said that Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund is also in talks to invest in the fund and that it will remain open to additional investment until the end of January as demand from both large companies and sovereign funds remained strong. SoftBank had earlier said that it is investing at least $25 billion in the fund and has been in talks with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund for an investment that could be as much as $45 billion. The FT report said that Masayoshi Son, the billionaire who built SoftBank into a global internet powerhouse, announced the launch of the fund in October after securing the support of Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, second deputy premier and minister of defense. Since Donald Trump won the US election in November, Masayoshi Son has been actively courting the president-elect, by vowing to invest as much as $50 billion in American start-ups. Analysts believe the move could help SoftBank expand its other US businesses. SoftBank owns a controlling stake in telecoms group Sprint, the report said.
