SoftBank May Pledge More Than $1 Trillion for AI Effort in US, Nikkei Says

SoftBank Group plans to create industrial parks for AI across the US and is considering an investment of more than $1 trillion, Nikkei reported. From a report: Founder and Chief Executive Officer Masayoshi Son is expected to visit the US to discuss his ideas for such industrial parks, the newspaper said. The factories would likely use AI-equipped robots that would operate autonomously because of labor shortages in the country, according to the report.

Son teamed up with OpenAI and Oracle in January to unveil a $100 billion joint venture to fund AI infrastructure in the US, one of the first such pledges after Donald Trump became president. They said at the time they would deploy $100 billion immediately with the goal of increasing that to at least $500 billion for data centers and physical campuses.

Quite obviously...

[Anonymous Coward]

Taxes are way too low if there is so much money to spend on bullshit.

Labor shortages

[ArchieBunker]

There is no shortage of labor. If people won’t work for what you’re paying then you’re the problem. Increase the pay and then almost like magic people will show up.

I, for one

[zawarski]

Welcome our AI robotic industrial park robotic overlords. Whatever-the-fuck they are. Is /. just using hallucinating AI to create random content now?

They need to Change their Name to New Foxconn

[mrmaster]

They don't have the money. They will never have the money. It's ridiculous this was even posted in the news.

Insanity

[phantomfive]

I really don't understand the insane amounts of cash being thrown at AI. Some cool things have come out of it for sure, but nothing nearly to justify the hype.

I wish I could figure out a way to short the AI bubble.

Brought to you by the backers of WeWork

[Luthair]

I'm sure they know what's up

Re:

[sjankis630]

Well Masayoshi Son lost Mohammed bin Salman a bunch of money and managed to keep all of his body parts together so there is that.

Through the looking glass

[TraumaFox]

SoftBank has already had to borrow tens of billions just to commit to their current pledges for Stargate. The idea that they can pledge a trillion is so absurd that even if you read it as satire, it would still be too unbelievable to be entertaining.

Money

[BringsApples]

We could use half of that and see what's up with food for starving people, or we could just use it all to make the lives of those with already super lives, even BETTER by giving them more spare time in their already day of nothing to do but dream....

Horseshit!

[SlashbotAgent]

SoftBank did ~$46Billion in total revenue in 2024.

We're supposed to believe, for a nanosecond, that they are going to spend the equivalent of 22 years worth of their total annual revenue?

HORSESHIT!

Re:

[ArchieBunker]

It definitely won't be company money. They will get investors and tax money (corporate welfare). You don't get rich by spending your own money.

No labor means no tax breaks, right?

[ebunga]

Because if you're not brining the jobs, why are you here?

Buy Supermicro!

[klipclop]

Bringing them private and so I can retire. :)

Me too

[gtall]

I too might pledge to invest $1 trillion in the U.S. for AI.

they dont' have the money

[daninaustin]

Softbank doesn't have nearly enough money to fund this and probably can't get enough investors or loans for a trillion dollars.