President-elect Trump and SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son on Monday announced plans by the Japanese internet and telecom company to invest $100 billion in US projects over the next four years, per the AP. Trump announced the planned investments, which are expected to focus on artificial intelligence, at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Monday, with Son at his side, along with Howard Lutnick, head of investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and Trump's pick for commerce secretary.
The investments by SoftBank are "a monumental demonstration of confidence in America's future," said Trump. Son, meanwhile, said that he wanted to "celebrate the great victory of President Trump" and that he will "bring the world into peace again." SoftBank was founded in 1981 by Son, a brash entrepreneur who studied at the University of California, Berkeley. SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together through its capital venture fund. The company's investment portfolio includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia. Earlier this year, it joined a partnership with Saudi Arabia to build a robot factory in Riyadh.
The Wall Street Journal reports that SoftBank has $30 billion in cash on hand, noting that it was uncertain how the company planned to fund the new investment. After the president-elect noted the $100 billion was double an investment pledge Son made in 2016 on the eve of Trump's first administration, the technology mogul said he was doubling down. Trump, appearing to joke, asked him at the microphone if he would double the investment again: "Would you make it $200 billion?" (More SoftBank stories.)
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