SoftBank Unveils $100B Investment in U.S. AI Infrastructure

The announcement was made at President-elect Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.

Masayoshi Son, CEO of Japanese investment firm Softbank Group, declared on December 16 that his company would invest at least $100 billion in the United States to construct artificial intelligence infrastructure.

The announcement occurred at President-elect Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. According to Trump, this alliance would produce 100,000 AI-related employees – however, details are limited as of publication.

During the announcement, Son and Trump joked about, with the president-elect pressing to double the initial amount. Son, laughing, described Trump as a "great negotiator" and pledged to "try and make it happen."

Trump 2.0

President-elect Trump and Son have a long history, forming a similar connection during Trump's first term in 2016.

Softbank Group offered $50 billion to the United States for infrastructure at the time, promising to create 50,000 new employees. It is unknown whether any employment was generated, although a CNBC article implies that the monies were disbursed by 2020.

The Department of the Treasury did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph's request for comment. The Treasury Committee on Foreign Investments is excluded from publication under the Freedom of Information Act.

Meanwhile, under the second Trump administration, Softbank would likely encounter a considerably less restrictive international trade and investment market in the United States than in previous years. Trump has promised to reduce and/or consolidate banking regulators and expedite projects worth more than $1 billion that entail environmental impact regulations.

Softbank’s AI ambitions

Son's connection with Trump comes when the company is experiencing expansion. The company has returned to prominence after losing 99% of its worth when the dot-com bubble burst in 2000-2002.

Analysts have ascribed the firm's turnaround to its strategic AI initiatives, which include a $1.5 billion investment in ChatGPT producer OpenAI in November 2024.

The new increase comes despite a series of setbacks related to its "Vision" investment arm, notably the closure of WeWork, which cost the company more than $14 billion.

As of late 2024, Softbank had around $175 billion in assets and equivalents, but it is unknown how much of that is available for immediate investment. According to Trump and Son, SoftBank Group will pay $100 billion by the end of 2028.