SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son Says AI Boom Is 50 Times Bigger Than Dot-Com Era

SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son told CNBC that the Masayoshi Son AI boom dwarfs the dot-com era by a factor of fifty, Benzinga reported Monday. The remarks arrived alongside a landmark commitment by SoftBank to deploy 75 billion euros ($87 billion) into AI infrastructure across France.

Son’s Case for an Unprecedented AI Shift

Son drew a pointed contrast between the early internet era and the current wave of artificial intelligence adoption. In his view, the dot-com crash was merely a speed bump within a far longer growth arc. He invoked the aftermath of the 1929 market collapse as a reference point. Auto and electronics companies that survived that downturn, he argued, ultimately rewarded patient investors with decades of returns. Son said any near-term correction in AI-related assets would represent an attractive entry point rather than a reason for alarm.

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The France Commitment and Its Scale

The centerpiece of SoftBank’s latest announcement is a 5-gigawatt AI data center to be built in France. The total envelope of 75 billion euros makes it one of the largest single AI infrastructure pledges ever made by a private group in Europe. Son has positioned these data centers as essential backbone for the next generation of AI model training and deployment. The scale underscores how seriously SoftBank is treating AI as a multi-decade capital allocation theme rather than a near-term trade.

Also Read: Meta and Google Race to Build Out AI Data Center Capacity Globally

SoftBank’s OpenAI Exposure in Context

Background: SoftBank’s History of Transformative Bets

SoftBank’s Vision Fund became synonymous with aggressive, large-scale technology wagers during the 2010s. Some bets proved catastrophic, most notably WeWork. Others, including an early stake in Alibaba, generated extraordinary returns. Son has consistently framed volatility as a feature of transformational investing rather than a flaw. His comparison of AI to the early automobile age fits a long-standing pattern of positioning SoftBank at what he sees as civilisational inflection points.

OpenAI Stake and IPO Outlook

Despite SoftBank holding a substantial position in OpenAI, Son pushed back against overconcentration concerns. He noted the OpenAI stake accounts for just over 20% of the group’s net asset value. He also signalled optimism about a potential OpenAI public listing, which would crystallise significant value for SoftBank shareholders. Investors appeared to respond favourably, with SoftBank’s ADR shares rising sharply on Monday.

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