Economic revitalization minister Daishiro Yamagiwa on Sunday revealed a plan to set up a fund to support the development of cutting-edge technologies crucial for the country's economic security. "The government will fully support private-sector companies' research and development activities for advanced technologies, and their efforts to prepare a business environment for such technologies," he said during a television program. The fund will likely be worth about ¥100 billion. The government will include the planned fund in a package of economic measures to be drawn up after the Oct. 31 Lower House election. The fund is expected to help Japanese companies and universities develop artificial intelligence, quantum and robot technologies, biotechnology and other important tech, and put them into practical use.

Apple will invest $1 billion in a fund set up by Japanese telecom company SoftBank to finance new technology that could be used in the future, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. "We believe their new fund will speed the development of technologies which may be strategically important to Apple," Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet told the Journal . The SoftBank Vision Fund, which the Japanese company is hoping to launch next year, could be one of the largest global tech investment funds, with the potential size of the Fund going up to $100 billion. SoftBank itself expects to invest at least $25 billion. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund could become the leading funding partner, with its potential $45 billion investment over five years. The money will be used to finance new technology, such as artificial intelligence, deep learning, robotics, and connected devices.