Masayoshi Son, founder of SoftBank Group Corp., is seeking to raise up to $100 billion in financing for a chipmaker that competes with NVIDIA in the artificial intelligence chip market.

This new project, codenamed Izanagi, will be Masayoshi Son’s next big venture as SoftBank cuts its investments in startups. Son’s plan includes creating a company that complements Arm Holdings’ chip business and creates a powerhouse for artificial intelligence chips. Insiders say SoftBank could provide $30 billion, while the remaining $70 billion could come from institutions in the Middle East.


If successful, the project would be one of the largest investments in artificial intelligence, surpassing Microsoft Corp.’s recent investment. in OpenAI in the amount of more than 10 billion dollars.

The details of the financing of the project and its specific direction are not yet clear. Masayesi is actively developing various investment plans to strengthen Arm’s position in the artificial intelligence market. Although Son has considered a possible merger with OpenAI for semiconductor manufacturing, the Izanagi project in its current form is completely separate from its ambitions to collaborate with OpenAI. Instead, SoftBank is exploring the possibility of using Arm chips, and the company’s chief executive, Rene Haas, is advising Son on the matter. It is possible that SoftBank’s plans were affected by the scandal with the dismissal and return of Altman, which did not reflect well on the reputation of the OpenAI project.

After failures with startups, Son focused all his attention on Arm, seeing in it the opportunity to create a leading company that rivals the “Magnificent Seven” of the world’s technological giants. SoftBank had about $41 billion in cash at the end of December, thanks to strengthening global stock markets and its purchase of T-Mobile US Inc. for 8 billion dollars, and 3/4 of this amount is planned to be invested in AI accelerators.