SoftBank Group is aggressively pivoting to secure control over critical infrastructure essential for artificial intelligence expansion. This strategy is highlighted by the reported $4 billion plan to acquire DigitalBridge, a move that would significantly bolster SoftBank's ownership of data centers and fiber assets necessary for large-scale AI deployment, such as Project Stargate. This acquisition positions SoftBank as a major private capital source targeting infrastructure control.
This infrastructure focus extends to energy resources, evidenced by SoftBank and OpenAI's joint $1 billion investment into SB Energy. Securing power availability is now framed as a defining risk for executing expansive AI ambitions globally. Furthermore, SoftBank is engaging in technological development, collaborating with Intel via its Saimemory team to create new DRAM-based memory chips anticipated by 2027 to support escalating AI infrastructure demands.
These actions underscore a strategic alignment with the massive projected buildout of AI and data center infrastructure, estimated in the hundreds of billions across North America. SoftBank appears to be moving beyond traditional investment to directly own and shape the physical delivery mechanisms required for next-generation AI projects, integrating hardware, connectivity, and power supply under its purview.
Last updated February 8, 2026
3 Feb 2026
Intel SoftBank Memory
Intel and SoftBank's Saimemory collaboration aims to develop new dynamic random-access memory chips designed to meet the escalating demands of artificial intelligence infrastructure, with initial prototypes anticipated in 2027.
9 Jan 2026
AI Energy Investment
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.
8 Jan 2026
North America AI Scale
Capital flows, energy limitations, and fundamental structural changes are redefining the scale of artificial intelligence and data center infrastructure across North America, currently estimated at a six hundred billion dollar corridor buildout.
7 Jan 2026
OpenAI infrastructure strategy
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.
29 Dec 2025
SoftBank Buys DigitalBridge
SoftBank has announced its intention to acquire the data center investment firm DigitalBridge for $4 billion.
29 Dec 2025
SoftBank Acquires DigitalBridge
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.
8 Dec 2025
SoftBank eyeing DigitalBridge
SoftBank is reportedly positioning itself as the next major source of private capital seeking to acquire DigitalBridge.
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