SINGAPORE: Japanese tech investment firm SoftBank Group is planning to invest US$1 trillion (S$1.34 trillion) to create industrial parks with artificial intelligence (AI) equipped factories across the US, using humanoid robots to help manufacturers address labour shortages, Nikkei reported, citing anonymous sources.
This investment is much higher than the US$500 billion that SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son announced in January.
Sources said the factories could use humanoid robots capable of walking autonomously. The group is considering purchasing graphics processing units (GPUs) from Nvidia and may introduce technology from German robotics firm Agile Robots, they added.
Taiwan’s Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, is one of the possible partner manufacturers. They added that the group’s aim is to cut down on human involvement by using AI in the production of a variety of products, including servers, air conditioners, automobiles, and smartphones.
PYMNTS reported that in December, Mr Son also said SoftBank would invest US$100 billion in the US over four years, focusing on AI and related infrastructure that would create at least 100,000 jobs. He made the announcement at Mar-a-Lago, the residence of then-President-elect Donald Trump, where he expressed “increased” confidence in the US economy with President Donald Trump’s election victory.
In December 2016, he made a similar investment ahead of Trump’s first term, predicting that the US president would bring deregulation.
SoftBank is an equity partner in the US$500 billion Stargate project, which US President Trump unveiled in January together with OpenAI, Oracle, and MGX. SoftBank will be in charge of funding the venture, and Mr Son will serve as its chair.
The first 500,000-square-foot (sq ft) (46,451.52-square-meter) data centre will be constructed in Abilene, Texas, as part of Stargate’s plan to construct big AI-focused data centres in the US.
According to PYMNTS, in February, it was reported that SoftBank was spearheading a US$500 million funding round in startup Skild AI, which develops general intelligence for task-adaptable robots.
SoftBank was involved in a previous round of funding for Skild AI, which raised US$300 million in July to build its robotics AI model.
In a press release at the time, Skild AI stated that the company will use the additional funding to grow its workforce and keep growing its training datasets and model to get ready for potential commercial deployment of its technology, noting the general purpose of the robots was to support the understaffed labour market and perform hazardous jobs.
From websites to mobile phones to tech investment, Mr Son has frequently shifted SoftBank Group’s focus to keep up with technological advancements. It now plans to invest tens of billions of dollars in OpenAI with the goal of becoming the largest AI firm in the world.
Just this week, SoftBank led what research firm PitchBook called the “largest funding round of all time,” nearly securing US$40 billion for OpenAI./TISG
Read also: SoftBank to acquire Ampere Computing for US$6.5B to boost AI push
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