Shatha Khalil *
The Japanese ”Softbank” Group announced the establishment of a new investment fund , Softbank Vision Fund , in partnership with the Public Investment Fund in Saudi Arabia.
The group said that the fund aims to promote investments in the technical sector, expected to be one of the largest investment funds in this vital important sector , and that the size of the new fund to reach up to $ 100 billion.
Saudi deputy crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman , said The Public Investment Fund is focused on achieving attractive long –term financial returns from its investments at home and abroad , as well as supporting the kingdom , s Vision 2030 strategy to develop a diversified economy .
and noted that the Softbank Vision Fund becomes world’s biggest with $ 93 billion of capital for investment that the Saudi Investment Fund is the largest shareholder in the fund with investments could reach $ 45 billion over the coming years, a Softbank Group $ 28 billion, and UAE “Mubadala” Company for Financial Investments $ 15 billion of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in the Fund for investment in advanced technology , and technology companies $ 5 billion in future technology sectors such as artificial intelligence and robotics .
Experts and analysts confirm the establishment of the Saudi -Japanese Fund is an economic step falls within the policy of the diversification of the Saudi economy basket, and strengthening partnerships with economic powers in the East, notably Japan and China will support new economic vision of the Kingdom.
The main headquarters of the new fund is located in the United Kingdom, and managed by a subsidiary of SBG «Softbank» Group , and will deploy capital from SBG and investment partners , the new Fund aims to be of the world, s largest of its kind in this vital sector.
SBG expects to invest at least US $ 25 billion in the fund over the next few years . SBG has concluded a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Public Investment Fund of the Kingdom of (PIF), under which PIF will consider investing in the Fund and becoming the lead investment partner, with the potential investment size of up to USD 45 over the next five years. In addition, a few large global investors are in active dialogue to join SBG and PIF to participate in this Fund can go up to USD 100 Billion.
«Softbank» will work through its wide operational experience and network of relationships with companies with an investment portfolio in order to provide high value to the investments of the new fund.
The deputy Crown Prince and Chairman of the Board of management of the Public Investment Fund Prince Mohammed bin Salman said: «We are delighted to sign a memorandum of understanding with a group Softbank, given the long history of the group Softbank and its outstanding performance and our strong relationship with it and with its CEO and Chairman of its Board of Directors Masayoshi Son»,
M.Son said: that “with the establishment of the new Fund, the group will be able to promoting global investments in the technology sector, and the Fund will work over the next decade to become the largest investor in the world in this vital sector, and we will work through this project to accelerate the information revolution by contribution to develop this sector.”
He added the fund will become a key global player in advanced technology investments, revealing about the join of 4 technology companies to the Fund, namely: US Apple and Qualcomm and Taiwan’s Foxconn and the Japanese Sharp without disclosing the size of its investment, but the figures suggest that are to reach $ 3 billion.
And the Softbank Vision Fund pointed out in a statement: ” The next stage of the information revolution is underway and to build the institutions that will make it possible requires huge investments in the long term and on a large unprecedented scale,” revealing that the plans of the establishment of the Fund receives pledges from some of the biggest investors in the world.
The announcement of the new fund comes during the visit of US President Donald Trump to Riyadh and signing deals by tens of billions of dollars, between the Saudi and US companies, and coincided with the arrival of Son also to Riyadh, who has vowed to Trump in 2016, investing $ 50 billion in the United States, creating 50 thousand new jobs, a pledge was a direct result of the victory of Trump in the elections.
The Fund also serves the Saudi interests of helping to obtain foreign technology, at a time when Riyadh seeks to diversify resources and access to new sectors to reduce their dependence on the revenues of oil exports, and mention that the Softbank Vision Fund seeks to buy a minority and majority stakes in companies of public and private sectors, whether are emerging or huge ones worth billions of dollars.
Saudi Investment Fund
it was established in 1971 to finance the projects of strategic importance to the economy of the Kingdom, and his role was expanded with the time to include several other key aspects, most notably the acquisition and management of government contributions to companies, including major Saudi Arabia leading and specialized companies.
The Fund has contributed and still in the establishment and management of companies to support innovation and efforts to diversify the economy and the development of non – oil sectors in the Kingdom; it also undertakes the responsibilities of ownership and management of the government’s contributions to bilateral companies and multiple companies outside the Kingdom, in addition to the selective investment in a number of international asset classes.
And a major shift was taken place in the structure of the Public Investment Fund, where the supervisory authority was transferred from the Ministry of Finance to the Saudi Economic and Development Affairs Council , which is headed by deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in March 2015, and its long – term strategy was rebuilt to cope with the vision of Saudi Arabia 2030 .
Expectations of Masayoshi Son:
…………………………………
The Executive Director of Softbank (CEO) Masayoshi Son expected a technological singularity by 2047, as a single computer chip will have an IQ of 10,000 at that time far surpassing the most intelligent world ; and that the best way to deal with this super intelligence is to find ways to cooperate with it , and make it a partner for us in improving the quality of life.
Masayoshi Son has been known as Bill Gates, who is the richest man in Japan, despite losing $ 748 million, through the Internet bubble in 2000, but his net wealth was estimated by $ 20.4 billion.
And “Softbank” is operating in several countries and took hold of the arena again, where it has maintained its forecast on the date of the occurrence of technological singularity, which is the arrival of artificial intelligence to extremely high levels so beyond human intelligence as a result of rapid technical growth.
CEO Son says “Computers will be smarter than people in 30 years by 2047 addressing a large audience at the Mobile world Congress conference, the telecom industry’s annual conference in Barceona. And it is known that the Son has already launched the same prediction in the ARM Tech Con in 2016, when he announced that Softbank is looking forward and preparing for the occurrence of singularity.
And Son believes there is the potential for the emergence of cooperation between humans and artificial intelligence, reminiscent of comments of Elon Musk in Dubai, and the Executive Director of the Softbank added : “I think this super intelligence is going to be our partner . If we misuse it it’s a risk. If we use it in good spirit s it will be our partner for a better life. So the future can be better predicted, people will live healthier, and so on.
Son is not the only person who thinks super intelligent machines will become reality , and who believes of the emergence of technological singularity by the year, which means the hypothesis that the artificial super intelligence will suddenly cause the start of technological development outside of control, leading to changes that can not be predicted or understood in human civilization where the predictor of future and Director of Engineering of Google Ray Kurzweil shared with him in the outlines of this expectation.
As for the ratio of the intelligence of machine that he predicted , Son reached the figure by comparing the number of neurons in the human brain with the number of transistors in a computer chip, and confirms that both are dual systems operating by running and turn off impulses.
Son believes that the number of transistors in a computer chip will exceed the number of neurons in the brain by the year 2018, which is not unlikely, given the recent developments in the technology of micro – slides, which exceeded Moore’s Law. However, it is worth mentioning that the Son considered the number of brain neurons are equal to 30 billion, which is much lower than the figure estimated by many, which is amounted by 86 billion.
The question here is: will super intelligent Machines destroy humanity? Son believes that humans will feel clearly of the impact of super intelligent machines on them, due to the abundance of intelligent machines, including cars, as well as the growth of Internet .
He says: “If this super intelligence is transferred to mobile robots, this will radically change the world and our lifestyle. We can expect this to occur for all types of robots: flying, big, swimming, micro, run, two legs, four legs or 100 legs. ”
Economic Unit
Rawabet Center for Research and Strategic Studies