During a visit to the USA President-elect Donald Trump's residence, Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son announced a $100 billion investment. This investment will be made over four years, promising to create at least 100,000 jobs. The investment and job creation will be primarily focused on artificial intelligence (AI) and related fields. SoftBank will fully deploy the money by the end of Trump's presidential term.
Masayoshi Son expressing optimism, announced "My confidence level in the economy of the United States has tremendously increased with his victory. President Trump is a double-down president. I’m going to have to double down." This move echoes a similar move made by SoftBank in 2016 when Trump was first elected the president of the US. During the commitment, SoftBank pledged $50 billion to the US economy, promising to generate 50,000 jobs.
Trump welcomed the new investment by SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and said, "He’s doing this because he feels very optimistic about our country since the election. This historic investment is a monumental demonstration of confidence in America’s future, and it will help ensure that artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, and other industries of tomorrow are being created and grown right here in the USA." Trump playfully asked Son to invest $200 billion, to which Son said that he would try.
Reportedly, the $100 billion investment by SoftBank could come from a variety of sources. The firm could invest through its Vision Fund, capital projects, or investments in chipmaking Arm Holdings. Some money could be the continuation of previously announced investments including the $1.5 billion SoftBank injected into OpenAI. This bold move positions SoftBank in the driver's seat with other prominent investors, such as Elon Musk, to drive the USA's innovation and job creation.
Source: CNBC
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