The firm has raised US$70 billion from the group, which also includes Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund, according to sources. Microsoft, Goldman Sachs and Saudi Arabia are also in talks for potential involvement. SoftBank is adding US$38 billion of its own capital to the new fund. (Nikkei Asian Review, Wall Street Journal)

Talking point: Now that the T-Mobile and Sprint merger is poised to be approved, SoftBank—which has invested US$19 billion in Sprint—will have money freed up to invest into the second fund. The news comes despite reports of several investors saying they’d give limited-to-no funds—including the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board—citing concerns like its lack of transparency. But for companies that have previously invested, it could be a way to access SoftBank’s portfolio firms and business. For example, it gives Apple and Qualcomm, which both invested in the first fund, access to new technologies. To get Microsoft to sign up, SoftBank said it would encourage its 75 portfolio funds to switch from Amazon’s cloud to Microsoft’s own.