The AI revolution is 50 times bigger than the dot-com revolution of the 2000s. Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son told CNBC on Monday.
“I think this is more than 10 times, maybe 50 times the size of dotcom,” Son told CNBC’s Arjun Karpal in Paris, a day after the company announced it would invest 75 billion euros ($87 billion) to build AI infrastructure, including 5GW of AI data center capacity in France.
The head of SoftBank said that while the dot-com crash experienced a painful explosion, it proved to be just a small bump in a much larger long-term growth story.
“This is the biggest technology and enablement revolution humanity has ever seen, and it’s very similar to the beginning of the Internet,” Son added.
Asked about concerns about a potential recession, Son said, “There’s always an adjustment,” referring to the 1929 Wall Street Crash.
“If you look at history, electronics and motorization crashed in 1929, but then went up for many years over the next 100 years. So there may be some corrections, but that would be the best investment opportunity for me.”
Multi-billion dollar data center investment
SoftBank’s investment represents the company’s largest AI infrastructure investment in Europe and includes the construction of a 3.1 million kW AI data center by 2031 in the northern Hauts-de-France region, including Dunkirk, Bosquer and Bouchamps.
“There will be huge investments,” Son told reporters at a Monday press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron. “We’re already doing that in the U.S., and we’re expanding a lot of our operations in the U.S., so we have the momentum to make France the center of Europe, and Europe needs this kind of AI technology.”
Japanese investment giant partners with French engineering firm schneider electric As part of wider construction, a large-scale industrial production site will be established at Dunkirk.
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