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Investing.com-- SoftBank Group Corp. (TYO:9984) CEO Masayoshi Son is seeking to partner with chipmaker TSMC (NYSE:TSM) and the Donald Trump administration to build a $1 trillion, artificial intelligence-dedicated complex in the U.S., Bloomberg reported on Friday.
Son plans to build a manufacturing hub and industrial complex that could rival China’s Shenzhen, the Bloomberg report said, citing people familiar with the “billionaire’s thinking.”
The complex will include production lines for building AI-powered industrial robots, and is largely aimed at bringing back high-tech manufacturing to the U.S., which is also a key goal of the Trump administration.
The proposed project is called “Project Crystal Land,” the Bloomberg report said, and it was unclear if TSMC was already involved in the venture. Son had reportedly discussed potential tax incentives with U.S. government officials, including Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and has also reached out to other tech firms, including Samsung (KS:005930), for the project.
Son is also considering involving Softbank (OTC:SFTBY) portfolio companies in the project.
Softbank is already leading a $500 billion effort with OpenAI, called Project Stargate, to build out more AI data center capacity in the United States. This comes as Son largely sticks to his earlier-stated objective of investing aggressively in AI.
Softbank also led a recent $40 billion funding round in OpenAI.