Business SoftBank's Son commits $100 bn U.S. investment in meeting with Trump

I'm happy Mr Son plans to invest a fortune in the US and create 100,000 jobs there. What's in it for Japan?


During a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump, SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son announced plans on Monday to invest $100 billion in the U.S. over the next four years. According to Trump, the investment will create at least 100,000 jobs in the U.S. He described it as "a monumental vote of confidence in America's future," emphasizing its role in advancing artificial intelligence and other emerging industries. At a news conference held at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump praised Son as "one of the most accomplished business leaders of our time" and "one of the world's most successful investors." Son highlighted that his optimism about the U.S. economy significantly grew following Trump's election victory. He noted that the new investment pledge, which is twice the scale of his 2016 commitment, reflects this increased confidence.

Neither Trump nor Son gave many details about the proposed U.S. investments. Funding for SoftBank's investments could come from various sources under the group's management, including capital projects, the tech-focused Vision Funds, and Arm, in which SoftBank holds a roughly 90% stake. The figure is believed to include plans such as a $1.5 billion investment in OpenAI. Son visited Trump in 2016 after his first presidential election win and pledged to invest $50 billion in the U.S. SoftBank launched its first Vision Fund the following year, ramping up investment in U.S. startups. Calling Trump the "double-down president," Son joked Monday that he had to double SoftBank's investment and said he would consider raising the figure after prodding by Trump.

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Paywall alert:

I've read that the first time around the $50B got spent, but the ties to any jobs created is not at all clear. And mentioned in the articles is the Foxconn deal that turned into a big nothing burger, taking tax money from the people of Wisconsin, and resulting in no new manufacturing plant and no new jobs.

Son is not Buffett, nor is he running (owning) any of the chip companies that have been drawn in by US offers of money to build plants. And he's a guy with a quarter of the $100B he's talking about--where's the rest going to come from?

This sounds like the concept of a plan. Trumpian PR, and that's all.

Lack of skilled us workers will probably kill the plan anyway.