SoftBank seeking stake in Japan's top utility to secure AI data center power
SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son told shareholders on Wednesday that the company's telecoms unit is seeking a stake in Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), Japan's largest utility. The move is strategic: SoftBank aims to ensure reliable, large-scale power supply for its expanding AI data center footprint, which requires enormous baseline electricity consumption. Control over Tepco would give SoftBank direct influence over the infrastructure layer fueling its AI ambitions.
This follows SoftBank's aggressive push into global AI infrastructure. The company launched a battery business in May targeting AI data center power needs and has committed $53 billion to build 5 GW of AI data center capacity in France. It also announced a $33.3 billion partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy and American Electric Power to build 10 GW of capacity in Ohio, positioning Japan's largest tech conglomerate as a primary mover in securing compute and power infrastructure for the AI era.
For architects tracking SoftBank's stack — from its OpenAI and Arm stakes to data center operations — this Tepco bid signals a vertical integration strategy: control foundation models through equity stakes, own compute through deployments, and now secure the electricity grid itself. It's a capital-intensive bet that AI infrastructure will remain the primary capital-deployment opportunity for the 2026-2030 period.
Sources
- Primary source
- bloomberg.com
“The telecoms unit of SoftBank is seeking a stake in Tokyo Electric Power Co., Masayoshi Son told shareholders on Wednesday. Having Tepco within SoftBank's sphere of influence would help the firm push into AI data centers, which require large amounts of power.”
- cnbc.com
“SoftBank plans to invest 45 billion euros ($53 billion) over five years to build AI infrastructure in France. The Japanese tech giant has committed to develop and operate 5 GW of AI data center capacity in France, with an initial 3.1 GW of facilities in the country's north.”