Masayoshi Son, CEO of SoftBank Group, stated on Tuesday that the development of artificial intelligence will require an annual investment of $5 trillion by the year 2040. Speaking at the SoftBank World corporate conference, Son also addressed discussions of a market bubble forming around the technology, terming such suggestions “absurd.”
During his address, Son detailed his outlook on the future of AI, specifically focusing on the concept of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), which he defined as intelligence surpassing that of humans. He told attendees that he believes AGI could be realized within the next 10 years.
Son framed the current investment in AI as minor compared to its future potential, drawing a parallel to the early stages of the internet. He argued that the transformational impact of AI will necessitate a far greater scale of capital deployment in the coming decades to build the required infrastructure, including data centers and renewable energy sources.
The remarks connect to SoftBank’s strategic focus on its subsidiary, Arm Holdings, a British semiconductor and software design company. SoftBank is the majority shareholder in Arm, which recently completed its initial public offering on the Nasdaq. Son positioned Arm’s chip designs as fundamental to the expansion of AI capabilities, stating they will serve as a core component for the technology’s future development.
This speech marks a return to a more forward-looking public stance for Son, whose company had previously announced a shift to a “defensive” mode amid financial losses in its Vision Fund investment portfolio. According to company financial reports, SoftBank has since accumulated a substantial cash reserve.
The presentation at the annual conference was intended to outline Son’s long-term perspective on the technological and capital requirements for advancing AI technology over the next two decades. He did not specify the sources for the projected $5 trillion annual investment figure.
