The CEO of Japan-based SoftBank Group, Masayoshi Son, is set to meet with President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago today to announce a $100 billion investment initiative aimed at bolstering the U.S. economy.
Son, often called “Masa,” is a globally recognized technology entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist. As the founder and CEO of SoftBank, a multinational investment holding company, Son has a history of high-profile, technology-driven investments. The new initiative reportedly focuses on artificial intelligence (AI) advancements and aims to create approximately 100,000 jobs across the United States.
As CNBC reports:
The funding could come from various sources controlled by Softbank, including the Vision Fund, capital projects or chipmaker Arm Holdings, where the firm is majority owner. Some of the money will not necessarily be newly raised, but could include some funding already announced such as Softbank’s recent $1.5 billion investment in OpenAI, the tech firm behind chatbot ChatGPT.
Son has made bold commitments to the U.S. before. In 2016, he announced a similarly ambitious plan, pledging to invest $50 billion in the U.S. with the goal of creating 50,000 jobs—a promise he fulfilled through his technology-focused SoftBank Vision Fund.
Known for its aggressive investment strategy, the Japanese multinational conglomerate focuses on technology, telecommunications and venture capital. It has made significant investments in companies such as Alibaba, Uber, Arm Holdings and WeWork, often through its Vision Funds, which are some of the largest tech-focused investment funds in the world.
Son believes in a long-term future dominated by artificial intelligence, robotics and a hyper-connected society. He has spoken about creating a “technological singularity” through SoftBank’s investments.
