Apple has held talks to invest $1bn (£787m) in SoftBank’s $100bn technology fund, according to reports published by The Wall Street Journal. The status of the talks remain unclear and nothing has been finalised as yet.

SoftBank, a Japanese multinational telecommunications and internet corporation, has been looking for investing partners as it assembles the world’s largest private equity fund – and rumours suggest Apple could put up a relatively small portion of the money.

The Journal reports that SoftBank has long had ties to Apple – after the pair collaborated on the release of the iPhone in Japan.

The SoftBank Vision Fund was announced in October, in partnership with the Public Investment Fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The two parties agreed to contribute $70bn over five years, while seeking the additional $30bn from outsiders.

SoftBank has been busy lately. Just last week, SoftBank’s CEO Masayoshi Son met with President-elect Donald Trump – announcing that the corporation would invest $50bn in the US’s technology sector.