SoftBank founder pitches $1.3 trillion US AI hub to TSMC, Trump team
Mr Masayoshi Son envisions a vast manufacturing hub like China's Shenzhen that would bring back high-tech manufacturing to the US. PHOTO: REUTERS
TOKYO – SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son is seeking to team up with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) to realize what could be his biggest bet yet – a trillion-dollar industrial complex in Arizona to build robots and artificial intelligence (AI).
Mr Son envisions a vast manufacturing hub like China's Shenzhen that would bring back high-tech manufacturing to the United States, according to people familiar with the billionaire's thinking. The park may comprise production lines for AI-powered industrial robots, they said, asking not to be named as the plan remains private.
SoftBank officials are keen to have the Taiwanese maker of Nvidia's advanced AI chips play a prominent role in the project, although it's not clear what part Mr Son sees for TSMC, which already plans to invest US$165 billion in the US and has started mass production at its first Arizona factory. Nor is it clear that TSMC would be interested. A person familiar with the chipmaker's thinking said that SoftBank's project has no bearing on TSMC's plans in Phoenix.
Codenamed 'Project Crystal Land,' the Arizona complex represents the 67-year-old SoftBank chief's most ambitious attempt in a career that's spanned numerous bet-the-house bids, thousands-fold-returns and billions of dollars in losses. Mr Son, who's often expressed disappointment in his own legacy, has repeatedly said he means to do everything he can to hurry AI development.
SoftBank officials have spoken with federal and state government officials to discuss possible tax breaks for companies building factories or otherwise investing in the industrial park, including talks with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, the people said.
The Japanese billionaire is also personally sounding out interest among an array of tech companies, they said. The project has been floated to executives at South Korea's Samsung Electronics, they said.
Representatives of SoftBank, TSMC and Samsung declined to comment. A Commerce Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr Son has pulled together a list of SoftBank Vision Fund portfolio companies that might take part in the Arizona manufacturing hub, the people said. SoftBank-backed start-ups working on robotics and automation technologies – such as Agile Robots – may set up production facilities at the industrial complex, they said.
The plans are preliminary and feasibility hinges on support from the Trump administration and state officials. While the cost of the project as envisioned by Mr Son may require as much as US$1 trillion (S$1.3 trillion) to execute, the actual scale depends on interest from big technology companies.
SoftBank is exploring the Arizona project as it also moves forward on plans to invest as much as US$30 billion into OpenAI and plans a US$6.5 billion acquisition of Ampere Computing. It's also seeding money into the Stargate venture with OpenAI, Oracle and Abu Dhabi's MGX, seeking to ferry hundreds of billions of dollars into data centres and related infrastructure around the world.
Those outlays come as SoftBank's cash stood at 3.4 trillion yen (S$30 billion) at the end of March. The Tokyo-based company has since tapped its T-Mobile US stake, selling roughly a quarter of what it held in March to raise US$4.8 billion this month. SoftBank also has net assets valued at 25.7 trillion yen, of which chip designer Arm Holdings makes the single largest portion, allowing it to borrow billions more as needed.
SoftBank's exploring project financing for Stargate data centres, a model that could be adapted to a big endeavor like Crystal Land. Common for large-scale infrastructure like oil or gas pipelines, the project finance template would allow the tech investor to raise funding on a project-by-project basis and require less money upfront.
Mr Son's restless search for growth has resulted in projects that proceed in fits and starts, making it difficult to gauge how committed he is to any one venture. The billionaire is often goaded by the desire to boost SoftBank's stock price and repay retail investors who've held onto the company's shares from before the dot-com boom and bust, people close to the SoftBank chief have said. Many investors have waited for decades for the stock to regain dot-com bubble levels – something it's flirted with only a few times since 2020.
If Son's primary motivation is to clear the way for AI, it may be more cost-efficient to encourage partnerships that link manufacturing expertise with that of AI engineers and specialists in fields from medicine to robotics, and incubating smaller companies, according to Melissa Otto, head of research at Visible Alpha.
But pouring cash into data centres may help lower the cost of developing AI applications and spur broader adoption, she said. 'He's a long-term thinker, and he takes risks,' Ms Otto said. 'It's just too early to tell.' BLOOMBERG
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
42 minutes ago
- Straits Times
EU plans to scrap anti-greenwashing rules after pushback
Conservative lawmakers said the new rules would not be good for businesses. PHOTO: REUTERS BRUSSELS - The European Commission said on June 20 it intends to scrap new rules against greenwashing after they hit a roadblock in the final stretch from conservative lawmakers calling them too onerous for businesses. The 'Green Claims Directive' would require companies to provide hard facts to back up claims that their products are carbon-neutral, biodegradable or 'less polluting'. Businesses would need to submit evidence for environmental claims for approval by independent verifiers – with fines and other penalties for failure to comply. 'In the current context, the commission intends to withdraw the Green Claims proposal,' the European Union (EU) executive's spokesperson on environmental matters, Maciej Berestecki, told reporters. European lawmakers and the bloc's 27 member states agreed last year to move ahead with the directive, which was being finalised in three-way negotiations with the commission with a final meeting set for June 23. But the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) – Parliament's biggest force, which is now pushing to roll back parts of the EU's green agenda – was not satisfied with the text, and asked this week for the commission to withdraw it. Mr Berestecki said the EU's executive arm decided to do just that, because the 'current discussions around the proposal' went against its 'simplification agenda'. Currently 30 million micro-enterprises – or 96 per cent of all firms – would be covered by the text, something the commission did not like, Mr Berestecki explained. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, who hails from the EPP, has pledged to make life easier for businesses in a bid to re-launch the European economy. Ms Danuse Nerudova, the EPP's negotiator on the file, welcomed the commission's move, describing the proposal as 'overly complex' and lacking an impact assessment to show its benefits would outweigh the burdens on businesses. 'We need regulation that is clear, proportionate, and grounded in evidence,' she said in a statement to AFP. 'Less bureaucracy and more competitiveness – that's what we promised to citizens.' But fellow lawmaker Sandro Gozi, of the centrist Renew group, called the decision 'shameful'. 'It is unacceptable that the EPP, in tandem with the far-right, is trying to undermine a fundamental piece of legislation to protect European citizens from corporate environmental fraud,' he said. Since last year's elections saw the EU parliament shift right, the bloc has embarked on a drive to cut red tape seen as hindering economic growth – including key parts of the environmental 'Green Deal' of Ms von der Leyen's first term. Most strikingly, a hard-fought law requiring companies to ensure their global supply chains are free of ethical and environmental abuses has had its rollout pushed back to 2028 – and its future is in doubt. The green claims bill was one of several EU initiatives clamping down on greenwashing, with a separate law adopted last year that banned broad, generic claims such as labelling products 'eco-friendly' or 'natural'. AFP Find out more about climate change and how it could affect you on the ST microsite here.
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Meta partners with sports eyewear brand Oakley to launch AI-powered glasses
Meta said on Friday it has teamed up with Oakley to release AI-powered smart glasses, expanding its push into wearable tech after the success of Ray-Ban Meta glasses. The social media company is expanding its partnership with Oakley and Ray-Ban-parent EssilorLuxottica amid growing consumer interest in AI-powered wearable devices. Meta has sold millions of Ray-Ban Meta glasses since their launch and said its "Oakley Meta HSTN" will feature a hands-free high-resolution camera, open-ear speakers, water resistance and Meta AI capabilities. The limited-edition product will be available for preorder starting July 11 at $499, with additional products starting at $399 launching later this summer. Meta said the product line would roll out in North America, Australia and several European countries, with plans to expand to Mexico, India and the United Arab Emirates by the year-end. The Oakley Meta HSTN will debut this month at several major sporting events including Fanatics Fest and UFC International Fight Week. Smaller rival Snap said earlier this month it would launch its smart glasses, called Specs, for consumers next year. Companies such as Google are also exploring similar investments.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Horseracing-Automatic betting terminals leave Ascot bookies all a flutter
Horse Racing - Royal Ascot 2025 - Ascot Racecourse, Ascot, Britain - June 19, 2025 Third placed Catalina Delcarpio ridden by William James Lee in action with second placed Understudy ridden by Robert Havlin during the 15:40 Ribblesdale Stakes Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge REUTERS ASCOT, England - Punters at Royal Ascot this week have, for the first time, been able to place bets using self-service electronic terminals as the course looks to modernise the age-old system of rows of in-person bookmakers displaying their odds to eagle-eyed racegoers. The machines, which resemble the ordering system seen in many fast-food restaurants, take punts of up to 100 pounds ($134.96) and offer a smaller range of bets than traditional bookmakers and larger pool-systems like The Tote. The gambling industry is the most substantial revenue stream for British racecourses and funds prize money, horse welfare and racecourse costs with over 13 billion pounds bet annually on horseracing in Britain. For many racegoers, handing over a crisp tenner to a brusque bookmaker is a core part of the experience, but Ascot says its technology makes betting more accessible to a wider range of people. Early responses suggest the terminals make it easier for people who know their selections and can make decisions in their own time, said Chris Collard, director of Ascot Racecourse Betting & Gaming. On the first two days of the Royal Meeting, some 60 million pounds of bets were placed via the World Pool, an international pool system into which Ascot's new machines feed. For the track's over 200 on-course bookmakers, the self-service machines with their low maximum bet are a curiosity, though they are staying alert should they feel them becoming a threat to their business. Alan Stadler, of A&A Racing, who the Racing Post reports paid 160,000 pounds for his pitch at Ascot in 2018, cautioned that remote gambling via machines could make it harder to assess those who can't afford to make the bet. "In the Royal Enclosure, you can take 5,000 pounds back from people who can readily afford it, but maybe in the Heath Enclosure, you possibly can't," he said. "So there are lots of issues going to come up with remote gambling via machines." For now Ascot has no plans to expand the rollout and says limiting the bet to 100 pounds is for the protection of customers. "Our customer base is largely recreational and our average bet size is much lower, around 10-20 pounds," he said, adding that only a fraction of total bets would come via this service. BIGGER THREATS Barry Pinnington, a bookmaker who has been in the business for 30 years, said any offering that takes business away from the track-side is a concern. But the incursion of pool kiosks, online betting and exchanges is more of a worry than the new terminals themselves. "The bottom line is that they take money away from us the closer they are to the betting rings, where the traditional bookmakers long have stood and taken the money," he told Reuters. While Pinnington traded around 60,000 pounds on Ascot's opening day, Stadler said he took a quarter fewer bets compared to the opening day last year. This still amounted to 55,000 pounds. "Online is having a bigger and bigger effect," Stadler said. "People are betting on their phones more and more. We like to think as bookmakers we're part of the day's attraction." All bets placed through Ascot's new system will feed into a global betting pool known as the World Pool, which mingles money bet at tote operators in 25 different jurisdictions from Hong Kong, through South Africa and the United States. The World Pool turned over some $8.15 billion in 2024. Trackside bookies recognise the World Pool brings important revenue for British racecourses but caution that wider adoption, and betting via mobile phones risks losing the human face. "I've seen racecourses around the world which have gone to a tote mechanism, and they're just like graveyards and there's no appeal," said Stadler. "There has to be a balance and I'm not sure the balance is there at the moment." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
