In context: Just after announcing an Intel investment, SoftBank keeps increasing its stakes in US-based technology initiatives. The Japanese conglomerate is primarily focused on funding tech-oriented companies, with its Vision Fund being the world's largest venture capital fund in the field.
Earlier this week, Foxconn Chairman Young Liu confirmed that SoftBank has acquired its Ohio plant to build new AI servers in the US. The transaction was first revealed a couple of weeks ago, with Foxconn earning $375 million from the sale of the site to an undisclosed partner in the AI server business.
The Taiwanese manufacturer and the Japanese investment holding will partner on Trump's $500 billion Stargate initiative, which aims to fund new data centers for AI tasks across the US. Foxconn originally bought the Ohio site from US electric vehicle startup Lordstown Motors and is now working with SoftBank to convert the plant for AI server manufacturing.
According to a Nikkei report, the Ohio plant offers the right combination of power capacity and available land for the large-scale AI server manufacturing required by the Stargate project. Ohio is a "very suitable place," Liu said, noting that the site has been completely transformed after SoftBank and Foxconn spent more than six months on retrofitting.
SoftBank's new property in the Midwestern US covers more than 6 million square feet, making it six times larger than the site Foxconn is developing in Houston, Texas, for manufacturing Nvidia's GB300 AI servers.
The plant was originally owned by General Motors, before Foxconn attempted an electric vehicle partnership with new owner Lordstown Motors.
The Trump administration is not particularly supportive of electric vehicle manufacturing, so Foxconn quickly shifted its business priorities in the US, much like the rest of the technology industry. If the Stargate initiative continues beyond 2029, the new Ohio facility will expand Foxconn's manufacturing presence in the Americas, adding to its operations in Houston, California, and Mexico.
SoftBank is a big proponent of AI technology, with CEO Masayoshi Son forecasting the arrival of the first, true artificial general intelligence within the next decade. Meanwhile, Foxconn and other device manufacturers must contend with Trump's tariffs on Taiwanese technology companies.
Liu is also chairman of the Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (TEEMA) and is working with the organization to mitigate the impact of tariffs. TEEMA includes about 3,000 members, many of which are now dealing with a 20 percent "reciprocal" tariff imposed by the White House on top of other existing trade barriers. Liu and TEEMA are considering establishing a science park in the US, or possibly Mexico, to help build a new supply chain ecosystem outside Taiwan.
SoftBank buys Foxconn's Ohio plant to build AI servers for US data centers
