The AI revolution is 50 times bigger than the dot-com revolution of the 2000s. Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son told CNBC on Monday.
“I think this is more than 10 times, maybe 50 times the size of dotcom,” Son told CNBC’s Arjun Karpal in Paris, a day after the company announced it would invest 75 billion euros ($87 billion) to build out AI infrastructure in France, including 5GW of AI data center capacity.
The head of SoftBank said that while the dot-com crash experienced a painful explosion, it turned out to be just a small bump in a much larger long-term growth story.
“This is the biggest technology and enablement revolution humanity has ever seen, and it’s very similar to the beginning of the Internet,” Son added.
“There are always corrections,” Son said, referring to the decline in auto and electronics stocks during the Wall Street Crash of 1929.
“If you look at history, electronics and motorization crashed in 1929, but then went up for many years, over the next 100 years, so there may be some corrections, but that would be the best investment opportunity for me,” he said.
SoftBank partnered with OpenAI last year on the Stargate project, a joint venture to build AI infrastructure in the United States.
Son said he does not believe SoftBank is overexposed to OpenAI in its investment portfolio, as AI startups account for just over 20% of the group’s net asset value, while British semiconductor design firm Arm is its largest holding, accounting for over 50% of the company’s net asset value.
He added that OpenAI “will be very successful” amid talk that the company is planning an IPO soon.
Multi-billion dollar data center investment
SoftBank’s investment represents the company’s largest AI infrastructure investment in Europe and includes the construction of a 3.1 GW AI data center in the northern Hauts-de-France region, including Dunkirk, Bosquell and Bouchamps, by 2031. Tokyo-listed companies closed 14% higher.
“There will be huge investments,” Son told reporters at a Monday press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron. “We’re already doing that in the U.S., and we’re expanding a lot of our operations in the U.S., so we have the momentum to make France the center of Europe, and Europe needs this kind of AI technology.”
Son said the company will rely heavily on project finance rather than equity capital for investments, pointing to the company’s 10 gigawatt project in Ohio, where it will soon secure long-term take-off contracts with customers.
“The funding we need is very concentrated, so we are confident that we can secure significant purchase orders from customers with whom we already have relationships. Then we can extend that momentum to France,” Son said.
Japanese investment giant partners with French engineering firm schneider electric As part of wider construction, a large-scale industrial production site will be established at Dunkirk.
