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SoftBank Pledges $100 Billion in U.S. AI Investment, Aiming to Create 100,000 Jobs Amid Tech Support for Trump

Dec 18, 2024, 01:40 AM

SoftBank Group Corp., led by CEO Masayoshi Son, has pledged to invest $100 billion in the United States over the next four years, focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. This commitment was announced in a joint statement with President-elect Donald Trump, who praised the investment for its potential to create 100,000 jobs. The investment aims to double the impact of SoftBank's previous $50 billion pledge made in 2016, which was intended to create 50,000 jobs. Despite the ambitious promise, SoftBank's current market capitalization stands at $97 billion, with $29 billion in cash on hand, raising questions about the feasibility of the new investment without additional fundraising efforts or asset sales. SoftBank's most valuable asset, a 90% stake in Arm Holdings, could potentially be leveraged to finance this commitment, though selling large amounts of stock might depress the share price. The announcement coincides with a broader trend of tech executives aligning with Trump's incoming administration, with companies like Meta, Amazon, and OpenAI also making significant contributions to his inauguration fund.