SoftBank's Masayoshi Son predicts AI will need $5 trillion yearly by 2040, dismisses bubble talk
11 Sources
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SoftBank's Son says AI will need $5 trillion per year by 2040, dismisses bubble talk
TOKYO, July 14 (Reuters) - The development of AI will require investment of $5 trillion each year by 2040, and any talk of a bubble forming around the technology is "absurd", SoftBank Group (9984.T), opens new tab CEO Masayoshi Son said on Tuesday. Over the past two years, the technology
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SoftBank Group's CEO says $5 trillion a year needed globally to meet AI demand
TOKYO (AP) -- Worries about a bubble in artificial intelligence investments are absurd, SoftBank Group's CEO Masayoshi Son said Tuesday, deriding such doubts as backward and akin to questioning the use of cars and planes. "To ask whether AI is a bubble is a foolish question," Son told executives
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Masayoshi Son says AI will cost $5tn a year by 2040, and calls bubble talk absurd
At SoftBank's annual conference in Tokyo, Masayoshi Son put a very large number on the AI build-out and declined to show his working. "Every year $5 trillion, or 800 trillion yen, you might think that's a lie, but I am confident that's what it will cost." That was Masayoshi Son on Tuesday, at
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SoftBank CEO Says You're Too Stupid to Understand What's Going on If You Believe the AI Bubble Is Real
Can't-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech With hundreds of billions of dollars still flowing into the tech industry, it's becoming harder and harder to deny the reality that the US economy is enmeshed in a financial bubble of incredible proportions. As recent polls have
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'Those who condemn AI are themselves spitting upward': SoftBank's CEO estimates $5 trillion needed annually to meet AI demand | Fortune
"To ask whether AI is a bubble is a foolish question," Son told executives at an annual company event in Tokyo. "AI will transform our lives completely, and do so in a way that generates profits." "Those who refuse to evolve are closing down their world. Those who condemn AI are themselves
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SoftBank Group's CEO Says $5 Trillion a Year Needed Globally to Meet AI Demand
TOKYO (AP) -- Worries about a bubble in artificial intelligence investments are absurd, SoftBank Group's CEO Masayoshi Son said Tuesday, deriding such doubts as backward and akin to questioning the use of cars and planes. "To ask whether AI is a bubble is a foolish question," Son told executives
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SoftBank AI investment: SoftBank's Masayoshi Son says AI will need $5 trillion per year by 2040, dismisses bubble talk
"The business model will be viable because by 2040, if AI revenue makes up 20% of global GDP, spending 800 trillion yen a year is a rounding error," Son said. The development of AI will require investment of $5 trillion each year by 2040, and any talk of a bubble forming around the technology is
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Masayoshi Son Predicts AI Will Replace Roughly 20% of Global GDP By 2040 as He Scoffs at Bubble Warnings:
SoftBank Group's (OTC: SFTBY) CEO, Masayoshi Son, brushed aside concerns about a potential bubble in artificial intelligence (AI) investments. He labelled such fears as "foolish" and "backward". Son made these remarks at an annual company event in Tokyo, as reported by Japan Today on Wednesday. He
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SoftBank Group's CEO says US$5 trillion a year needed globally to meet AI demand
TOKYO -- Worries about a bubble in artificial intelligence investments are absurd, SoftBank Group's CEO Masayoshi Son said Tuesday, deriding such doubts as backward and akin to questioning the use of cars and planes. "To ask whether AI is a bubble is a foolish question," Son told executives at an
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Masayoshi Son lays out AI forecast: $5 trillion a year by 2040
News Masayoshi Son lays out AI forecast: $5 trillion a year by 2040 He ties the spending boom to AI reaching 20% of GDP At SoftBank World, SoftBank Group founder and CEO Masayoshi Son laid out an enormous AI bet: by 2040, he thinks the world could be spending about $5 trillion a year on AI
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SoftBank's Son says AI will need $5 trillion per year by 2040, dismisses bubble talk
TOKYO, July 14 (Reuters) - The development of AI will require investment of $5 trillion each year by 2040, and any talk of a bubble forming around the technology is "absurd", SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son said on Tuesday. Over the past two years, the technology investment group has embarked on
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SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son declared that AI will need $5 trillion per year by 2040 and dismissed bubble concerns as absurd at the company's annual conference in Tokyo. With over $60 billion invested in OpenAI, Son outlined a future where AI-related industries constitute 20% of global GDP and 100 trillion autonomous AI agents reshape society into an agent-centric world.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son Defends Massive AI Investment Amid Bubble Concerns
At SoftBank's annual corporate conference in Tokyo, CEO Masayoshi Son delivered a bold proclamation that AI will need $5 trillion per year by 2040, while simultaneously dismissing concerns about an AI bubble as "absurd."
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The declaration comes as SoftBank Group has embarked on an expansive two-year AI investment program, pouring tens of billions into OpenAI, financing data centers, and investing in robotics firms to establish itself as a core AI platform. Son's cumulative investment in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI is set to exceed $60 billion before 2026 ends, representing one of the most concentrated bets in the technology sector.1
Source: Benzinga
The $5 Trillion Question and AI's Transformative Potential
"Every year $5 trillion, or 800 trillion yen, you might think that's a lie, but I am confident that's what it will cost," Son told executives, though he did not explain how he arrived at this figure.
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His justification centered on proportion rather than arithmetic: "The business model will be viable because by 2040, if AI revenue makes up 20% of global GDP, spending 800 trillion yen a year is a rounding error."1
This massive AI demand would require annual global investments to expand data centers, increase chip production, and provide energy systems and other AI infrastructure.2
Dismissing AI Bubble Fears as "Foolish"
"To ask whether AI is a bubble is a foolish question," Son told the Tokyo audience. "AI will transform our lives completely, and do so in a way that generates profits. Those who refuse to evolve are closing down their world. Those who condemn AI are themselves spitting upward."
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He added that people who question whether there's an AI bubble "don't think people who ask that question know what AI is about."1
This isn't the first time Son has rejected such concerns—he previously called bubble talk "blasphemy against AI."4
SoftBank's AI Investments Face Credit Rating Pressure
SoftBank's aggressive AI investment strategy has attracted scrutiny from credit rating agencies. S&P Global downgraded SoftBank's outlook from "neutral" to "negative" in March, warning that "the liquidity of SoftBank Group's investment portfolio will worsen because OpenAI now accounts for a bigger share of it."
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The ratings agency estimated that the additional investment in OpenAI would knock nearly four percentage points onto the company's loan-to-value ratio. SoftBank has invested $34.6 billion in OpenAI and sold its stake in chip maker Nvidia last year to free up funds for more investments in AI and data centers.2
Source: Fortune
Energy Demands and Nuclear Fusion Vision
Son predicted that AI data centers will require power generation of 3 terawatts by 2040, equal to 1.8 times total current global power consumption.
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These energy demands will initially be powered primarily by gas before nuclear fusion becomes the main energy source, according to Son's vision. "Will we use solar power in space as Elon Musk says? Maybe we will use both, but if you ask me fusion on earth will be the cheaper, cleaner energy source," he stated.3
SoftBank recently started a battery business in Japan to build next-generation electric power infrastructure in anticipation of growing electricity demand driven by AI use.2
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Vision of an Agent-Centric Society and AI Superintelligence
Son outlined his vision of society in 2040 where 100 trillion autonomous AI agents make their own decisions, take action, and communicate with other agents. "We will go from a human-centric world to an agent-centric world. The age when humans are the highest life form on earth will end. For better or for worse, it will happen and it can't be stopped," Son declared.
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He referenced AI superintelligence as the defining characteristic of AI-related industries that would comprise a fifth of global GDP.5
Source: ET
Financial Viability and SoftBank's Track Record
Son made his name through big bets on transformational technologies, scoring major wins with an early investment in Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba and bringing Apple Inc's iPhone to the Japanese mobile phone market. However, others like bankrupt shared-office provider WeWork failed to live up to the hype.
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Tokyo-based SoftBank Group reported its profits for the fiscal year through March soared nearly five-fold to 5 trillion yen ($32 billion) from a year earlier as its AI investments paid off.2
SoftBank oversees a sprawling collection of businesses through what it calls Vision Funds, with other businesses including telecommunications and energy.5
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