30s Summary

SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son plans to invest $100bn in the US artificial intelligence sector, creating an estimated 100,000 jobs. The announcement was made at an event attended by Son and President Donald Trump. This move follows a previous partnership between Trump and SoftBank in 2016, promising $50bn for US infrastructure and 50,000 jobs. Under Trump’s current term, SoftBank expects an easier environment for foreign investment in the US.

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Hey guys, have you heard? Masayoshi Son, the big boss at Softbank Group, has revealed plans to spend a hefty $100 billion on developing the artificial intelligence scene in the States.

This chat happened at Trump’s favorite spot in Palm Beach, Florida, where Son and President-elect Donald Trump mingled. Trump says this all means about 100,000 jobs in the works for those into AI, although much of the juicy details are still under wraps for now.

In the midst of the pow-wow, Son and Trump had a bit of fun jabbering about potentially doubling that ambitious amount. Son, laughing, called Trump a “top-tier negotiator,” and kinda promised he’d give it a shot.

All of this is not surprising, considering Trump and Son go way back. They made a similar pact in 2016 during Trump’s first term when Softbank said they’d give up $50 billion for infrastructure and 50,000 jobs in the US. There’s some mystery though, on whether these jobs actually happened, but we know for sure the cash was given out by 2020.

Under Trump’s second term, Softbank is anticipated to have a smoother time with investing and trading abroad in the US compared to past years. Trump has plans to chill out with banking regulations and promises to get the ball rolling faster for any investments that top $1 billion in environmental impact regulations.

On the Softbank front, the company is currently getting back on its feet. It went through some hard times when it lost 99% of its value around the dot-com bubble burst, but has since rebounded.

Outlook is good for Softbank as people believe this renaissance is largely due to clever investments in AI, including dumping $1.5 billion into OpenAI. This progress comes even though a few investments went south, like the closure of WeWork that cost over $14 billion.

Now, Softbank sits on a nest egg of around $175 billion but it’s a bit hush-hush on how much of that is ready to be mobilized. According to Trump and Son, Softbank is expected to cough up the whole $100 billion by 2028’s end. Stay tuned!