SoftBank puts $33bn into AI plant
March 23, 2026
By Chris Forrester
Masayoshi Son, the head of Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, was front and centre at a ground-breaking ceremony at Piketon, Ohio, on March 20th where the bank is to finance what is claimed to be the largest-ever AI data-centre complex in history.
The $33 billion (€28.6bn) project is on the site on a former uranium enrichment facility. SoftBank’s plan is to build a natural gas-powered factory that will eventually generate 9.2 gigawatts, with the first 800 megawatt portion coming on-line early in 2028.
SoftBank owns an 11 per cent stake in OpenAI which is held though the bank’s Vision Fund.
The full build is planned across 3,700 acres and is projected to cost $500 billion by the end of the decade. Japan’s Prime Minister Takaichi sat across from US President Donald Trump a few nights prior at a dinner where Son was present and the massive US investment framework was reaffirmed.
Son stood on recovered ground and explained that the project represented the largest single-site investment in American history.
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