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US President-elect Donald Trump, with SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son at his side, announced on Monday that the Tokyo-based company would invest $100 billion in the United States over the next four years, in what the two called a boost to the country’s economy. economy.
Trump said in his joint appearance with Son that the investment would create 100,000 jobs focused on artificial intelligence and related infrastructure, and that the money would be deployed before Trump’s term ends.
Trump said the investment was evidence of “monumental confidence in America’s future.” He jokingly encouraged Son to make a $200 billion investment. Son chuckled and said he would try.
The $100 billion U.S. pledge, made at a flag-draped event at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, dovetails with Trump’s promise to boost the U.S. economy and reduce the effect of the inflation in Americans during his second term. mandate, which begins January 20.
Trump called Son “one of the most successful business leaders of our time.”
It is unclear whether jobs were created from a similar 2016 commitment.
Monday’s announcement echoes a similar promise Son made to Trump in December 2016, then as president-elect ahead of his first term, at Trump Tower, when Son said he would spend $50 billion and create 50,000 jobs. job.
While that money was ultimately spent, it’s unclear whether those jobs were created. SoftBank has been rebuilding its finances after the failure of WeWork, a high-flying New York-based office startup, and after some of the technology companies it invests in through its Vision Fund unit fell out of favor among the investors.
Trump has an affinity for flashy ads promising thousands of jobs, though those investments don’t always pay off. Early in his first term, he announced a $10 billion U.S. investment by Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn in a Wisconsin factory that promised thousands of jobs but was largely abandoned.
It is unclear how SoftBank plans to finance the new investment. As of Sept. 30, it had about $29 billion in cash and cash equivalents, according to its most recent earnings report. After a sharp stock decline between 2021 and 2023, its shares have recovered and gained almost 50 percent so far this year.
The funding could come from various sources controlled by SoftBank, including the Vision Fund, equity projects or its chipmaker Arm Holdings, CNBC said.
Son has been a strong advocate for the potential of AI and has been pushing to expand SoftBank’s exposure to the sector, taking a stake in OpenAI and acquiring chip startup Graphcore.
In October, Son reiterated his belief in the coming of artificial superintelligence, saying it would require hundreds of billions of dollars of investment.
Son said at the time that he was saving funds “so I can take the next big step,” but did not provide any details.
Trump promised last week that he would extend fast-track permits to any company that invests $1 billion or more in the United States.
