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Japan's SoftBank Corp will unveil plans on Monday to invest $100 billion and create 100,000 jobs in the United States, the latest sign of how companies are rushing to ingratiate themselves with Donald Trump.
Masayoshi Son, SoftBank's billionaire CEO, plans to stand alongside President-elect Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Monday as the pair formally announce the plans, according to people familiar with the matter.
The maverick investor, who made a similar move after Trump won the presidential election in 2016, will pledge to create jobs focused on artificial intelligence and infrastructure projects, including those focused on chips and data centers, people familiar with the investment plan said.
Son's announcement comes as US tech groups, led by Amazon and Meta, have moved to make large donations to the fund for Trump's inauguration in January – signaling efforts by US companies to curry favor with the incoming president.
Trump has pledged to stimulate investment in the United States through a combination of lower taxes and deregulation — and even promised to speed up regulatory approvals for companies that invest $1 billion or more in the American economy.
Investors hope the plans will boost the world's largest economy, a bet that has led to strong flows into US stocks since last November's election and sent stocks higher.
But his plans to impose sweeping tariffs on imports from around the world, his expected crackdown on immigration and his rollback of other manufacturing incentives enacted during Joe Biden's administration threaten to undermine his pro-growth efforts, analysts say.
It is unclear how Son, known for his lofty statements, will be able to finance his $100 billion investment pledge. He similarly pledged to pump $50 billion into the US economy and create 50,000 jobs after Trump won the election in 2016. A person familiar with the plans said the size of the latest investment may be subject to change.
In 2016, Son raised $100 billion through the SoftBank Vision Fund, with support from Saudi Arabia. This money has supported a variety of US technology companies, including Uber and WeWork, but it is unclear exactly how many jobs it created over the four-year period.
This time around, Son is likely to use his chip design company Arm, which is the crown jewel of the Vision Fund, as a way to create jobs and invest in artificial intelligence on a broader scale.
