Japan's SoftBank announced it will acquire U.S. data center investor Digital Bridge in a deal valued at about $4 billion. This is the latest acquisition by founder Masayoshi Son, who aims to become a major player in the AI space.
Over the past year, huge investments in the infrastructure needed to provide artificial intelligence (AI) computing power have sent stocks in the sector, including SoftBank, soaring.
“SoftBank Group's mission is to enable artificial superintelligence (ASI) for the advancement of humanity,” SoftBank and Digital Bridge said in a statement announcing the partnership late Monday.
“Achieving that vision will require breakthroughs not only in AI models, but also in the platform infrastructure needed to train, deploy, and deliver AI models globally,” the joint statement said.
Florida-based DigitalBridge manages approximately $108 billion worth of infrastructure assets, including cell phone towers and data centers. The transaction price includes debt.
Mr. Son, 68, a longtime ally of US President Donald Trump, made a name for himself in the 1990s with spectacularly successful bets on companies such as Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.
After suffering huge losses, Son is now looking to shift his focus to AI, and SoftBank recently raised $5.8 billion in new investment by selling its stake in U.S. semiconductor giant Nvidia.
SoftBank is a major investor in ChatGPT maker OpenAI, and the two companies, along with Oracle, are leading the $500 billion Stargate project to build AI infrastructure announced by President Trump in January.
