SoftBank Group Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son said artificial intelligence will require $5 trillion in annual investment by 2040, arguing that the current pace of spending should not be viewed as a market bubble but as a necessary investment to support the technology’s long-term growth. He made the remarks while outlining his vision for the future of AI infrastructure and its economic impact.
According to Son, AI is expected to account for 20% of global gross domestic product (GDP) by 2040. Based on this projection, he estimated that spending of 800 trillion yen (approximately $5 trillion) every year would be economically sustainable to support the infrastructure required for AI development and deployment. He dismissed concerns that the current surge in AI investments is excessive, stating that the scale of investment aligns with the technology’s future contribution to the global economy.
The comments come at a time when technology companies worldwide are significantly increasing capital expenditure on AI infrastructure, including data centres, advanced semiconductors, networking equipment and energy resources. Rising demand for generative AI applications has accelerated investments by cloud providers and AI developers seeking to expand computing capacity. These investments are also driving demand across the semiconductor supply chain, particularly for high-performance chips used to train and run large AI models.
SoftBank has continued to position itself as a major investor in the artificial intelligence ecosystem through investments in AI companies, semiconductor technologies and computing infrastructure. Son’s projections reflect expectations that AI adoption will continue expanding across industries, increasing the need for large-scale infrastructure investments over the next decade. Investors are closely monitoring spending trends as companies balance the opportunities presented by AI with the significant capital required to support future growth.
“The business model will be viable because by 2040, if AI revenue makes up 20% of global GDP, spending 800 trillion yen a year is a natural consequence.”
