Softbank Group

AKA softbank

SoftBank Group is intensifying its strategic pivot towards securing critical infrastructure for large-scale artificial intelligence deployment. This is underscored by significant ground-level operational commitments, such as SB Energy's plans for a massive AI datacenter campus in Ohio. This project necessitates substantial grid infrastructure upgrades and auxiliary power generation, reflecting a deep focus on the physical supply chain layers essential for AI.

The scale of SoftBank's AI infrastructure ambitions is immense, with reports detailing a potential 10-gigawatt data center development. This initiative significantly amplifies the company's existing focus on energy availability, a previously identified operational risk. The Ohio site development also involves external parties managing prior uranium site cleanup costs, indicating complex project financing and execution.

This infrastructure-centric approach complements earlier high-level strategic investments, including substantial capital allocations to AI ventures and acquisitions of digital infrastructure assets. While SoftBank continues long-term technological collaborations, the current emphasis is clearly on controlling foundational elements like power, connectivity, and data centers to meet accelerating AI demand and solidify its market position.

Last updated April 12, 2026

Coverage

SoftBank is launching a battery storage business in Japan, which will include a production plant expected to house an AI data center and begin operations in 2028.
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SoftBank's 10 gigawatt Ohio facility, supported by the Department of Energy and American Electric Power, signifies a new era for artificial intelligence data centers by prioritizing power and infrastructure.
OpenAI's $10 billion funding, NextEra's 10GW power initiative, and Adani's hyperscaler push in India highlight significant capital, power, and policy shifts reshaping global AI infrastructure.
Softbank's SB Energy is redeveloping Department of Energy land in Ohio to construct a massive artificial intelligence datacenter campus, which will include auxiliary power generation facilities and significant grid infrastructure upgrades, with external parties covering the costs of prior uranium site cleanup.
SoftBank, through its SB Energy division, is planning a massive 10-gigawatt data center powered by approximately 9.2 gigawatts of natural gas plants at a former Department of Energy nuclear enrichment site in Ohio.
At NVIDIA GTC 2026, Jensen Huang detailed the architecture of the AI factory, including Rubin systems and inference pipelines, highlighting optical networking and Nvidia's blueprint for developing large-scale AI infrastructure.
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OpenAI and SoftBank have jointly invested $1 billion into SB Energy, signaling a growing industry trend where technology firms proactively secure essential energy resources to underpin their expansive artificial intelligence ambitions.
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Project Stargate has advanced into execution during 2025, with OpenAI initiating the assembly of a multi-gigawatt artificial intelligence infrastructure portfolio globally, where power availability, capital structures, and delivery capability are now the defining risks for large-scale deployment.
SoftBank has announced its intention to acquire the data center investment firm DigitalBridge for $4 billion.
SoftBank's four-billion-dollar acquisition of DigitalBridge represents a strategic pivot toward owning critical digital infrastructure, including data centers and fiber assets, to secure control over power and delivery mechanisms essential for the next wave of artificial intelligence projects like Stargate.
SoftBank is reportedly positioning itself as the next major source of private capital seeking to acquire DigitalBridge.