SoftBank Group Corp Masayoshi Son, right, is sits at the main table while President Donald Trump assists Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to her seat at a dinner in the State Dining Room of the White House on Thursday. Image:AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

SoftBank CEO Son unveils $500 bil AI data center investment in Ohio

21 Mar 2026, 07:04 · Japan Today

PIKETON, Ohio — SoftBank Group Corp plans to invest $500 billion to build an artificial intelligence data center in Ohio, with construction to begin sometime this year, the conglomerate's chairman and CEO said.

Masayoshi Son, who attended a White House dinner on Thursday hosted by U.S. President Donald Trump for visiting Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, said the investment would be one of the largest in a single location.

Son made the announcement after attending a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday for a 9.2 gigawatt gas-fired power plant in Piketon, Ohio.

The project would be part of the $550 billion commitment made by Japan last year in a deal with the United States for tariff relief.

"We are going to do the largest construction project" in the country, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said at the event.

The data center will be attached to the power plant and draw a massive amount of electricity to run AI systems. The $500 billion figure will include spending on AI-related semiconductors.

SoftBank Group said the same day it had launched the Portsmouth Consortium with 21 Japanese and U.S. companies -- including three Japanese megabanks and Goldman Sachs -- for the large-scale power generation and AI infrastructure development project.