By Takeru Kise / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

PIKETON, Ohio -- "This is sure to be the largest investment in human history," said SoftBank Group Corp. Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son after announcing a project that features construction of a 10-gigawatt AI data center in Piketon, Ohio.

The data center is expected to be one of the largest in the world. Its 10-gigawatt capacity would be equivalent to the output of 10 nuclear power plants. Investment for the entire project is expected to total 500 billion dollars (about 80 trillion yen).

Electricity will be supplied by a gas-fired power plant on site. The power plant, which will also be developed by SoftBank Group, will be the first project launched under the Japan-U.S. investment deal reached during tariff negotiations. It will be built with Japanese capital.

Son spoke to reporters after attending a groundbreaking ceremony for the data center on Friday. The following is excerpted from Son's remarks to the media.

Question: How will the investment for the data center be structured?

Masayoshi Son: It will cost 170 billion dollars to 200 billion dollars to build the data center itself and related facilities. It will be another 300 billion dollars for chips and systems. In total, the initial investment is expected to be at least 500 billion dollars.

An additional investment worth 300 billion dollars will be needed every five years to update the chips and systems. After 20 years, 1.5 trillion dollars will be invested in this one facility.

For a project at a single location, this is sure to be the largest investment in human history. It will be larger than the combined total of all the data centers constructed in the world.

Question: Will the investment be made by SoftBank Group alone?

Son: We will build the data center, but major U.S. IT companies will lease it under long-term contracts. They will invest in the chips and systems used in the data center.

Question: Are tech giants like Google and Apple interested in signing contracts?

Son: They're participating in our bidding process in a healthy and competitive environment. We'll sign a preliminary agreement early next month, and at around the end of next month, you should know which company has won.

Question: Do you think the project will be a win-win for both Japan and the United States?

Son: The U.S. government has asked us to aggressively procure products from Japanese equipment manufacturers. This is a very rare situation that would normally be unthinkable.

Question: Why do you want to strengthen your relationship with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump?

Son: We had always wanted to expand our business in the United States. However, the previous administration under (Joe) Biden was reluctant to increase power generation, so it was not always a comfortable situation for us. The Trump administration welcomes active business expansion by companies. The president's proactive approach aligns with our vision.

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This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.

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March 24, 2026 05:04 ET (09:04 GMT)

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