Overview
- Masayoshi Son made the $5 trillion-per-year projection and rejected talk of an AI bubble during SoftBank’s annual corporate conference in Tokyo on July 14, 2026.
- Son estimated AI data centers will need about 3 terawatts of power by 2040 and said gas will be used first with nuclear fusion later as the main energy source.
- SoftBank has concentrated capital into AI by increasing stakes in OpenAI, launching data-center and battery projects, and selling its Nvidia stake to free funds for AI investments.
- Reports differ on how much SoftBank has invested in OpenAI, with figures cited around $34.6 billion in some accounts and above $60 billion in others, leaving public exposure unclear.
- Son’s forecast builds on his history of big, high-risk bets and raises concrete second-order questions about whether global power supply, chip production, and data-center capacity can scale to meet demand and offer adequate returns.