Japan's SoftBank Group is reportedly considering investing $1 trillion (about 1,470 trillion won) across the United States to create an industrial complex utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) equipped robots, as of the 29th. Masayoshi Son, chairman of SoftBank Group, is said to be visiting the U.S. to unveil a plan titled 'Industrial Park Proposal.'
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) reported that Chairman Son is likely to promise a more than $1 trillion investment plan to the U.S. government during his upcoming visit to the U.S. To cover this funding, it is expected that project finance methods will be utilized. Direct loans from not only financial institutions but also investment funds are being pursued.
The newspaper analyzed this as an alternative in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of tariff increases against various countries. It is interpreted as an intention to instill the perception that Japan contributes to U.S. manufacturing by building factories that effectively utilize AI robots.
The industrial complex envisioned by SoftBank is expected to be equipped with a system that predicts demand through AI to respond to the decline in the workforce. The plan is to optimize production process design through this. The newspaper noted, 'We will change the process in a way that reduces human involvement by utilizing artificial intelligence in the production processes of a wide range of products such as smartphones, automobiles, and air conditioners.'
Earlier, SoftBank unveiled the joint venture 'Stargate' project for establishing data centers in the U.S. in collaboration with OpenAI and Oracle last January. This project is expected to see up to $500 billion (about 735 trillion won) invested over the next four years.