According to people familiar with the matter, SoftBank Group has terminated negotiations to acquire U.S. data center operator Switch Inc., a move that represents a setback for founder Masayoshi Son's ambition to build the "Stargate" artificial intelligence infrastructure. For months, Son had been actively pushing for this acquisition deal, valued at approximately $50 billion. He believed that direct control of the company's energy-efficient data center network would bolster the $500 billion "Stargate" project, providing computational power for partner OpenAI. However, these sources indicated that earlier this month, Son conceded that a full acquisition was no longer feasible and canceled plans to announce the deal in January. The individuals requested anonymity as the matter is not yet public. They added that the two parties are still actively discussing a potential partial investment or the establishment of a partnership. Earlier this month, SoftBank signed a $3 billion deal to acquire the New York-listed investment company DigitalBridge Group. A SoftBank spokesperson declined to comment on the matter, and representatives for Switch and DigitalBridge also refused to comment.

Massive information, precise interpretation, all in the Sina Finance App

Editor in charge: Wang Yongsheng