SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son Says AI Dwarfs the Dotcom Era
SoftBank chief executive Masayoshi Son told CNBC Monday that the current wave of artificial intelligence dwarfs the dotcom era by a factor of roughly 50, a claim he made as his firm unveiled its largest-ever AI infrastructure commitment in Europe.
Son spoke to CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal in Paris, a day after SoftBank announced a 75 billion euro ($87 billion) pledge to build AI infrastructure across France, including 5 gigawatts of data center capacity.
Son Frames Dotcom as a Dress Rehearsal
Son argued that the dotcom bubble of the late 1990s was not a true peak but a minor rise before something far greater. The year 2000, he suggested, now looks like a small hill compared to the mountain that AI represents. The eventual post-bubble expansion of internet technology, he said, points toward an even more dramatic trajectory for AI.
His comments position SoftBank not merely as a capital allocator but as a firm that sees the current cycle as a once-in-a-generation infrastructure build.
A $87 Billion Bet on French AI Infrastructure
The French commitment centers on the Hauts-de-France region in the country’s north. SoftBank plans to bring 3.1 gigawatts of AI data center capacity online there by 2031, with sites in Dunkirk, Bosquel, and Bouchain. The broader package covers 5 gigawatts nationwide.
Son made the announcement alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, framing the investment as a way to position France as the AI hub of Europe. SoftBank is also partnering with French engineering group Schneider Electric to develop a large-scale industrial production hub in Dunkirk as part of the buildout.
The firm said existing momentum from its United States AI infrastructure expansion informed the European push.
Background: SoftBank’s Long Arc on Tech Bets
SoftBank has a well-documented history of placing outsized bets on transformative technology cycles. Son built much of the firm’s reputation through early stakes in companies like Alibaba and Yahoo Japan. His Vision Fund vehicles later poured capital into a wide range of AI and tech startups globally, with mixed results. The renewed focus on physical AI infrastructure marks a shift toward direct capital deployment rather than fund-mediated exposure. Europe, long seen as lagging the United States and China on AI infrastructure scale, has attracted growing commitments from major technology players in 2025 and 2026.
The France deal represents SoftBank’s clearest signal yet that it views the continent as a viable long-term base for AI capacity.
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