Masayoshi Son, the CEO of Japanese investment holdings firm Softbank Group, announced on Dec. 16 that his firm would be investing at least $100 billion in the United States to build artificial intelligence infrastructure.

The announcement was made at President-elect Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. According to Trump, this partnership will create 100,000 jobs focused on AI — though details remain scarce as of the time of this article’s publication. 

During the announcement, Son and Trump exchanged banter indicating that the president-elect sought to double the initial sum. Laughing, Son referred to Trump as a “great negotiator,” and promised to “try and make it happen.” 

Trump 2.0

President-elect Trump and Son have a long-standing relationship and, during the first Trump administration, the two inked a similar partnership in 2016.

At the time, Softbank Group pledged $50 billion to the US for infrastructure with the promise to create 50,000 new jobs. It’s unclear whether any jobs were created, though a report from CNBC indicates the funds were paid out by 2020. 

The Department of the Treasury did not immediately return a request for comment from Cointelegraph. The Treasury’s Committee on Foreign Investments is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.

Meanwhile, under the second Trump administration, Softbank likely faces a much less restrictive foreign trade and investment market in the US than it did in years prior. Trump has vowed to cut and/or consolidate banking regulators and promised to fast-track any investments over $1 billion to include environmental impact regulations. 

Softbank’s AI ambitions

Son’s partnership with Trump comes amid a regrowth period for the company. After losing 99% of its value when the dot-com bubble burst between 2000-2002, the firm has climbed back to prominence. 

Related: Softbank CEO says company’s purpose is to create ‘artificial super intelligence’

Analysts have largely attributed the recovery to the firm’s strategic AI investments, including a $1.5 billion buy-in to ChatGPT maker OpenAI in November 2024.

The recent uptick comes in spite of a string of failures associated with its “Vision” investment arm, including the shuttering of WeWork, which cost the firm more than $14 billion.

As of late 2024, Softbank has approximately $175 billion in assets and equivalents, but it’s unclear how much of that is available for immediate investment. According to Trump and Son, Softbank Group will pay the full $100 billion by the end of 2028. 

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