SoftBank, maxi-investment of USD 100 bn over 4 years in the US arrives

US President-elect Donald Trump and SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son today announced a $100 billion investment over four years by the Japanese financial holding company in US projects. The announcement will be made from Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence. SoftBank estimates that its investments in the US will create 100,000 jobs focused on artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.

SoftBank's investment portfolio includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese e-commerce platform Alibaba, and artificial intelligence chip maker Nvidia. The announcement comes just days after Trump promised to expedite federal permits for those who invest at least $1 billion in the US economy.

Masayoshi Son joins a host of tech executives seeking to curry favour with the incoming administration. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, will donate $1 million to Trump's inauguration fund, having already donated to President Joe Biden's re-election campaign in 2024. Meta and Amazon have also donated $1 million each.

Son forged a strong relationship with Trump back in the previous Republican presidential run, visiting the US in December 2016 and promising to invest $50 billion. The firm actively invested in US companies through its investment vehicle Vision Fund, but later ran into trouble due to the failure of many of its operations.

Son's announcement this time marks the most high-profile commitment by a company to expand investment in the US since Trump's victory. During his election campaign, the president-elect promised to boost the US economy by cutting corporate tax rates, using tariffs to spur inward investment by foreign companies, and abolishing regulations that Republicans say have hampered economic growth.