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(Bloomberg) — SoftBank Group Corp. is looking to invest in Japan’s biggest power utility to help secure the electricity needed to expand in artificial intelligence, the company’s chief executive officer said.
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The telecoms unit of SoftBank is seeking a stake in Tokyo Electric Power Co., Masayoshi Son told shareholders on Wednesday. Having Tepco — as the utility is known — within SoftBank’s sphere of influence would help the firm push into AI data centers, which require large amounts of power, he said.
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“Our telecoms unit, SoftBank Corp., has put itself forward to become the next owner of Tepco,” Son said, without elaborating. “We remain one of the leading contenders among several candidates. If this can be realized, I believe we should be building data centers in Japan.”
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SoftBank representatives declined to comment further. Tepco shares reversed earlier losses, rising as much as 1% in afternoon trading in Tokyo. The company is valued at about ¥759 billion ($4.6 billion).
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Tokyo-based SoftBank is one of the world’s foremost supporters of AI, and has been exploring ways to secure energy for its ambitions in Japan. The group’s telecoms unit plans to transform a factory in Osaka into one of the country’s biggest production lines for large-scale batteries.
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Tepco is on the hunt for a capital tie-up to help turn its business around and underpin the ballooning costs of cleaning up the wrecked Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant. The company earlier this year sought proposals from potential partners.
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SoftBank has been accelerating its investments in data centers as the investment company aims to secure sufficient compute capacity for OpenAI and other hyperscalers that are racing to address a growing demand for AI tools and services. Son said SoftBank is reviewing multiple sites in Texas for data center projects.
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He said he expects “substantial” profits to be generated from SoftBank’s large-scale data center project in Ohio, which would channel $500 billion to install 10 gigawatts of capacity. SoftBank is currently in the process of negotiating an initial agreement with potential customers, he said.
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SoftBank also unveiled plans last month to invest as much as €75 billion ($85 billion) to build 5 gigawatts of AI data center capacity in France, saying the country is poised to become a top European hub for AI infrastructure. France is home to Mistral AI and is one of the few countries with globally competitive large language model capabilities.
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“And eventually, I believe we should expand much further in Japan as well,” Son said. “So please look forward to it. Inside the goose’s belly, many things are in preparation. And they are going to generate enormous profits.”
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—With assistance from Stephen Stapczynski, Mayumi Negishi and Jason Rogers.
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(Updates to add share price reaction and more details throughout.)
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