That’s according to a report Thursday (April 30) from the Financial Times (FT), which characterizes the venture, known as Roze, as part of SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son’s push to make his AI ambitions a reality.
Roze could go public as early as this year, with SoftBank executives targeting a valuation that could reach $100 billion, the report added, citing sources familiar with the matter.
These sources say Son wants to list this year to offset the multi-billion dollar funding pledges the company has made, including large commitments to OpenAI.
Reached by PYMNTS, SoftBank declined to comment.
SoftBank plans to hold an analyst day in a data center facility in Texas in July to promote the initial public offering (IPO), according to the same sources.
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However, the FT added, there are some within SoftBank who are doubtful about the valuation and the timeline for the listing, partly because of geopolitical and economic upheaval amid the U.S war on Iran.
At the same time, U.S. markets could soon have to find space for three historically large IPOs, the report added: those of SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI.
In related news, PYMNTS wrote recently about rising investor attention to physical AI and vertical AI startups, with venture funding focusing on firms building systems designed to operate in the physical world or automate specialized industry workflows.
“The trend reflects a shift in the AI startup landscape away from general-purpose tools toward systems that can perform defined tasks in sectors such as robotics, healthcare, logistics and enterprise software,” that report said.
Interest in physical AI has picked up amid debate about the role robotics could play in advancing artificial intelligence. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has argued that humanoid robots could chart a potential pathway toward artificial general intelligence, suggesting that machines that can interact with the physical world may accelerate progress in autonomy and reasoning.
“While the claim remains speculative, funding patterns suggest investors are betting that AI systems connected to real-world environments could become a major frontier of innovation,” PYMNTS added.
Meanwhile, another FT report from earlier this month said that nearly 40% of U.S. data center projects are in danger of falling behind schedule. The report, citing data from satellite and AI analytics group SynMax, said that 60% of projects scheduled for next year have not yet started construction.
Industry executives interviewed by the FT said delays are due to problems related to permitting and local opposition, as well as labor, power and equipment shortages.
