SoftBank Group, headed by CEO Masayoshi Son, has promised to invest $100 billion in US projects over the next four years, with a significant emphasis on artificial intelligence. This announcement was made at a press event at Mar-a-Lago attended by President-elect Donald Trump, who praised the investment as a demonstration of international confidence in the United States’ future.
Trump, along with SoftBank’s Son and Howard Lutnick, who heads Cantor Fitzgerald and the commerce secretary nominee of Trump, has laid out a wide outline of the investment expected to bring technological innovation and growth in all sectors. The committed capital infusion is more than twice the $50 billion that Son had pledged back in 2016 for his first presidential campaign for Trump, which was set at creating 50,000 U.S. jobs and backing U.S. startups.
“This is a tremendous show of faith in America’s future,” Trump said, highlighting Son’s optimism about the US economy. SoftBank will probably focus its investment on technologies that are emerging like AI, which has been at the center of focus both of SoftBank and President Trump’s administration. Son, according to sources, has indicated his interest in the project while hailing the potential of peace and prosperity for all around the world.
In a lighter moment, Trump playfully suggested that Son might double the commitment once again and asked, “Would you make it $200 billion?” The exchange reflected the collaborative tone of the meeting, which emphasized growth and innovation.
SoftBank is the brainchild of Son who founded it in 1981 and the major companies that constitute SoftBank include Yahoo, Alibaba, and Nvidia among others. There have also been high-profile partnerships, such as a robot factory venture in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Not all of the investments made by SoftBank, however have been winners. The stakes in the WeWork sought bankruptcy in 2023, resulting in huge losses for SoftBank. Among other bad ventures, Zume the pizza-making firm was another big failure.
Announcing the plan comes amidst deeper, broader efforts by Trump in stimulating economic growth. Last week, he promised to move faster with federal clearances for energy and construction projects whose sums exceed $1 billion. Challenging times for SoftBank-type projects have characterized past cross-border investments, and SoftBank’s deal has served as one of Trump’s most recent successes in soliciting massive financial commitments in support of U.S. development.