President-elect Donald Trump announced that SoftBank Group Corp. planned to invest $100 billion in the US over the next four years during an event alongside Chief Executive Officer Masayoshi Son on Monday.
“He’s doing this because he feels very optimistic about our country since the election,” Trump said, adding that the pledge represented a “demonstration of confidence in America’s future.”
“I’m very, very excited,” Son, who met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, told reporters. “I would really like to celebrate the great victory of President Trump and my confidence level to the economy of the United States has tremendously increased with his victory.”
The plan includes a pledge to create 100,000 jobs focused on artificial intelligence and related infrastructure, including investments in data centers, semiconductors and energy, according to a person familiar with the plan.
Son forged a strong relationship with Trump the last time he was president, making a similar visit to Trump Tower in December 2016 and promising the creation of 50,000 jobs as part of a $50 billion investment.
SoftBank was one of several companies that made such pledges at the time. The company did actively invest in US companies through its Vision Fund investment vehicle. But Softbank later ran into trouble as many of its deals floundered, including a multi-billion dollar investment in WeWork, the office space startup that ultimately filed for bankruptcy.
Son’s announcement this time marks the highest-profile commitment by a company to expand investment in the US since Trump’s election win.
The president-elect promised during his campaign to boost the US economy by cutting corporate tax rates, using tariffs to spur domestic investment by foreign companies and rolling back regulations Republicans say have hampered economic growth.
Trump also promised to speed permitting for anyone willing to invest $1 billion or more for projects in the US.
“This is President Trump delivering on the promise he made to the American people on the campaign trail that he was going to make the United States of America the manufacturing superpower of the world,” Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for the Trump transition, told Fox Business on Monday.
Son has vowed to increase his investments in artificial intelligence, which he has described as a technology that will change virtually every business. SoftBank invested $500 million in OpenAI in October and is aiming to increase that investment by acquiring up to $1.5 billion in the startup’s stock through a tender offer for existing shareholders.
“President Trump is a double-down president, I’m going to have to double down,” Son said at the Mar-a-Lago event.
Trump, with a grin, said he wanted Son to actually invest $200 billion in US ventures.
“I will really try,” Son said with a laugh.
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