SoftBank Is Courting Trump With a Proposal To Invest $100 Billion in AI.

In the next four years, Softbank (SFTBY +0.88%), a Japanese investment giant, intends to invest a total of one hundred billion dollars in the United States.

“The decision was made out of optimism about the administration that would be led by President-elect Donald Trump,” stated the chairman of the company.

The infrastructure that is associated with artificial intelligence will be the primary focus of the investments, as reported by CNBC. This infrastructure encompasses the production of semiconductor processors and data centres that contain equipment that is pertinent to artificial intelligence.

In order to achieve the objective of generating one hundred thousand new employment, the funds will be invested before the conclusion of Trump’s second term as president.

Softbank’s Vision Fund, capital projects, and Arm Holdings may have contributed.

Furthermore, there is a possibility that the funding is not newly raised and may include investments that have been disclosed in the past, such as the company’s $1.5 billion investment in OpenAI.

Masayoshi Son has become a fervent advocate for artificial intelligence (AI) in his capacity as Chief Executive Officer of Softbank. He has even gone so far as to seek investment advice from ChatGPT, which is a component of OpenAI.

He has likened those who are sceptic of the technology to goldfish that will be “left behind.” According to a report published by The Financial Times in May, Softbank was reportedly prepared to allocate up to $9 billion annually to artificial intelligence initiatives.

During the same month, Wayve, a company that specialises in autonomous vehicles, received one billion dollars in funding. It served as the impetus for this funding round.

While holding a press conference with the incoming president at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Son made the following statement: “I would really like to celebrate the great victory of President Trump, and my confidence level in the economy of the United States has tremendously increased with his victory.”

“I would really like to also celebrate the fact that President Trump has won the election.” “I would particularly like to celebrate the fact that President Trump has won the election.”

During the press conference, Trump enquired of Son whether he would “make it $200 billion.” Son responded with mirth and stated that “he is an exceptional negotiator.” Son responded to Trump’s inquiry.

Softbank’s 2016 announcement that it would invest $50 billion in the United States and generate 50,000 new employment would be followed by the $100 billion investment.

Softbank proclaimed this intention.

During that time, Trump asserted that the agreement would not have been reached if his Democratic opponent had been effective in winning the presidential election.

While serving as the keynote speaker at the groundbreaking ceremony for a new Foxconn facility in Wisconsin in June 2018, President Trump made the following statement. He stated that Softbank has invested a total of $72 billion thus far.

In December 2019, Softbank reported to Forbes that the Vision Fund and other vehicles have contributed $47 billion to the economy of the United States by investing in dozens of businesses, including DoorDash (DASH +2.08%), more than a year later. Softbank disclosed this information.

WeWork, a co-working venture, was the recipient of nearly half of its investments at the time. In 2023, the company filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code after an unsuccessful public launch.

WeWork’s initial public offering was unsuccessful. WeWork’s value had plummeted from $47 billion to a mere $45 million prior to its filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. At the commencement of this year, the organisation successfully avoided bankruptcy.

SOURCE: QZ