SoftBank Acquires Foxconn's Ohio Plant for $375M to Advance Stargate AI Project

SoftBank reportedly bought Foxconn's Ohio factory for the Stargate AI project | TechCrunch

The mystery buyer of the former General Motors factory owned by Foxconn in Lordstown, Ohio is apparently SoftBank, according to Bloomberg News. SoftBank wants to use the factory to build AI servers as part of the Stargate data center project being spearheaded by the Japanese conglomerate, OpenAI, and Oracle. The report comes just a few days after Foxconn announced it had sold the factory, along with electric vehicle manufacturing equipment that was inside of it, to a buyer it only referred to as "Crescent Dune LLC" -- an entity that was created in Delaware in late July. Neither company immediately responded to requests for comment. It's unclear what this means for Monarch Tractor, a California-based startup that develops electric and autonomous farm equipment. Monarch was the lone customer of Foxconn's contract manufacturing operation at the Ohio factory, after the other three of the Taiwanese tech giant's prospective customers went bankrupt. Monarch CEO Praveen Penmesta has not responded to emailed requests for comment. SoftBank, OpenAI, and Oracle announced the Stargate project one day after Donald Trump's inauguration. The effort currently involves a large data center that is being built in Texas, but the companies involved have said they want to build infrastructure in other states and countries. In May, Bloomberg reported that SoftBank was struggling to line up funding for the project, and that it was already being hampered by Trump's myriad trade wars. Foxconn bought the factory in late 2021 from electric vehicle startup Lordstown Motors. At the time, Foxconn chairman Young Liu said his company wanted to develop the site into the "most important electric vehicle manufacturing and R&D hub in North America." The sale closed in 2022 and, one year later, Lordstown Motors filed for bankruptcy. Prospective customers like Fisker Inc. and California startup IndiEV also went out of business.

SoftBank Buys Foxconn's Ohio Plant to Jumpstart Stargate AI Push

SoftBank Group Corp. is the buyer taking ownership of Foxconn Technology Group's electric vehicle plant in Ohio, a move aimed at kick-starting the Japanese company's $500 billion Stargate data center project with OpenAI and Oracle Corp. SoftBank, which has struggled to create a financial blueprint for Stargate, had approached Foxconn to get the Apple Inc. supplier on board with its plan to build data centers and related infrastructure throughout the US, people familiar with the matter said. The EV plant sale is a result of those efforts by the Japanese investor, they said, asking not to be named as the discussions remain private.

SoftBank buys Foxconn's Ohio plant to jumpstart Stargate AI push, Bloomberg News reports

Aug 8 (Reuters) - SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T), opens new tab is acquiring Foxconn Technology Group's (2317.TW), opens new tab electric vehicle plant in Ohio, in a move to launch the Japanese company's $500 billion Stargate data center project with OpenAI and Oracle Corp (ORCL.N), opens new tab, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. Foxconn did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment while SoftBank could not be reached for a comment. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Reporting by Devika Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

SoftBank buys Foxconn's Ohio plant to advance Stargate AI push, Bloomberg News reports

Aug 8 (Reuters) - SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T), opens new tab is acquiring Foxconn Technology Group's (2317.TW), opens new tab electric vehicle plant in Ohio, in a bid to launch the Japanese company's Stargate data center project, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. U.S. President Donald Trump in January announced Stargate, a private sector investment of up to $500 billion for AI infrastructure, funded by SoftBank, OpenAI and Oracle (ORCL.N), opens new tab. SoftBank, which has struggled to create a financial plan for Stargate, approached Foxconn to get the Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab supplier on board with its plan to build data centers and related infrastructure throughout the U.S., which led to the sale of the plant, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. The Ohio site may be used to host a data center, Bloomberg said. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. SoftBank declined to comment, while Foxconn did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. The Stargate Project is expected create more than 100,000 jobs in the U.S. Reporting by Devika Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Sonia Cheema Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

SoftBank buys Foxconn plant in Ohio for $375M to make AI servers

SoftBank Group Corp. has reportedly bought a Foxconn plant in Ohio to advance its Stargate data center collaboration with OpenAI. Bloomberg revealed the purchase today. Foxconn, officially Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., is the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer. It assembles Apple Inc.'s iPhones and supplies servers to multiple cloud providers. The company is also active in numerous other markets including the auto sector. Three years ago, Foxconn acquired a former General Motors Co. plant in Ohio to manufacture electric vehicles. It sold the facility earlier this week for $375 million to a newly created shell company. Foxconn didn't name the organization behind the shell company, describing it only as an "existing business partner." Bloomberg's sources said that SoftBank bought the plant as part of an effort to partner with Foxconn on Starlink. Announced in January, Starlink is a $500 billion initiative to build artificial intelligence data centers for OpenAI. SoftBank is one of the project's main backers. Foxconn is expected to continue operating the Ohio plant going forward. The company will reportedly repurpose the facility for the production of AI servers that could be used in Stargate data centers. According to Bloomberg, SoftBank and Foxconn may also use the Ohio site for other purposes. It's unclear what chips will power the AI servers that Foxconn intends to make at the plant. In February, Reuters reported that OpenAI was close to finalizing the design of its first custom AI chip. Using custom processors in Stargate data centers could help the AI provider reduce its reliance on Nvidia Corp. and thereby lower hardware costs. Another possibility is that Foxconn will equip the AI servers with chips from SoftBank. In 2024, the latter company bought a startup called Graphcore Ltd. that makes machine learning accelerators. This past March, SoftBank inked a $6.5 billion deal to buy central processing unit developer Ampere Computing Holdings LLC. AI servers include both machine learning accelerators and CPUs. The Ohio plant purchase is part of a push by SoftBank to take on a bigger role in Stargate. According to Bloomberg, the company is currently searching for a site that could host OpenAI's flagship Stargate data center complex. The project is said to have drawn interest from large Japanese banks and other international institutional investors. SoftBank has a subsidiary called SB Energy that develops solar farms and energy storage infrastructure in the U.S. Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that sites tied to SB Energy could potentially be used to host Starlink data centers.

SoftBank buys Foxconn Lordstown plant for Stargate AI servers

This acquisition follows Foxconn's late July announcement of the factory's sale, including electric vehicle manufacturing equipment, to "Crescent Dune LLC," a Delaware-established entity. SoftBank has reportedly acquired Foxconn's former General Motors factory in Lordstown, Ohio, for its Stargate artificial intelligence server production, as reported by Bloomberg News. This acquisition follows Foxconn's late July announcement of the factory's sale, including electric vehicle manufacturing equipment, to "Crescent Dune LLC," a Delaware-established entity. Neither SoftBank nor Foxconn has publicly commented on the transaction. SoftBank intends to utilize the facility for building AI servers, supporting the Stargate data center initiative, a collaborative project involving SoftBank, OpenAI, and Oracle. The implications for Monarch Tractor remain unconfirmed. Monarch Tractor, a California-based developer of electric and autonomous farm equipment, was Foxconn's sole remaining contract manufacturing customer at the Ohio plant. Other prospective customers of Foxconn's operations at the facility, including Lordstown Motors, Fisker Inc., and California startup IndiEV, subsequently ceased operations or filed for bankruptcy. Monarch CEO Praveen Penmetsa has not yet issued a statement regarding the factory sale. The Stargate project, announced by SoftBank, OpenAI, and Oracle one day after Donald Trump's inauguration, initially involved a large data center under construction in Texas. The participating companies expressed intentions to expand infrastructure to additional states and countries. Bloomberg reported in May that SoftBank was encountering challenges in securing funding for the project, with progress reportedly affected by trade disputes. Foxconn acquired the Lordstown factory in late 2021 from electric vehicle startup Lordstown Motors. Foxconn chairman Young Liu stated at the time that the company aimed to transform the site into a prominent electric vehicle manufacturing and research and development hub in North America. The factory sale was finalized in 2022, and Lordstown Motors filed for bankruptcy one year later.

SoftBank buys Foxconn's Ohio plant to advance Stargate AI push, Bloomberg News reports

(Reuters) -SoftBank Group Corp is acquiring Foxconn Technology Group's electric vehicle plant in Ohio, in a bid to launch the Japanese company's Stargate data center project, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. U.S. President Donald Trump in January announced Stargate, a private sector investment of up to $500 billion for AI infrastructure, funded by SoftBank, OpenAI and Oracle. SoftBank, which has struggled to create a financial plan for Stargate, approached Foxconn to get the Apple supplier on board with its plan to build data centers and related infrastructure throughout the U.S., which led to the sale of the plant, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. The Ohio site may be used to host a data center, Bloomberg said. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. SoftBank declined to comment, while Foxconn did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. The Stargate Project is expected create more than 100,000 jobs in the U.S. (Reporting by Devika Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Sonia Cheema)