SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son attends an event to pitch AI for businesses in Tokyo, Japan February 3, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

SoftBank's Son considers up to $100 billion investment in France, Bloomberg News reports

· CNA · Join

Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST
FAST

May 11 : SoftBank Group Corp founder Masayoshi Son is considering an investment of up to $100 billion in France, including a multibillion-dollar project to build AI infrastructure in the European nation, Bloomberg News reported on Monday.

Companies have been channeling billions into data centres to power generative AI services. OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank announced in September last year plans for five U.S. AI data centres for the $500 billion Stargate project, a plan to build a nationwide advanced AI network.

Son has held talks about unveiling an ambitious French AI data center project with President Emmanuel Macron in the coming weeks, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. Son's plans might be announced during the Choose France Summit, it added.

Details of the project remain in flux, and the scope of the potential investment could change, Bloomberg said. 

CNA Games

Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time

Buzzword
Create words using the given letters

Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser

Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge

Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
Show More
Show Less

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. SoftBank did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

SoftBank's investments in AI also include over $30 ​billion in investments in OpenAI ​so ⁠far, for about an 11 per cent stake, in a bid to emerge ⁠as ​a winner in the ​battle among developers of large language models.

Its other investments include the robotics business of ABB and digital ⁠infrastructure ​investment firm DigitalBridge.

Source: Reuters

Newsletter

Week in Review

Subscribe to our Chief Editor’s Week in Review

Our chief editor shares analysis and picks of the week's biggest news every Saturday.

Sign up for our newsletters

Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox

Subscribe here

Get the CNA app

Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories

Download here

Get WhatsApp alerts

Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app

Join here