• The SoftBank CEO stated that he thinks AI is more than 10x, probably 50x bigger than dotcom.
• While being optimistic, Son did not rule out the possibility of an AI correction.
• In the U.S., SoftBank has vowed to invest $500 billion in data center infrastructure as part of Project Stargate.

SoftBank’s (SFTBY) chief executive officer, Masayoshi Son, reportedly believes the artificial intelligence revolution is up to  “50x bigger” than the dotcom internet frenzy seen at the beginning of the millennium.

“I think this is like more than 10x, probably 50x bigger than dotcom,” Masayoshi Son told CNBC in an interview. “This is the biggest revolution of technology and realization that mankind ever experienced, so this is just like the beginning of the internet.”

Son’s resounding claim about AI comes a day after his company pledged to invest up to €75 billion ($87 billion) to build AI infrastructure in France, including a five-gigawatt AI data center.

“It’s a massive-sized investment coming,” Son told reporters on Monday. “We are doing that in the U.S. already; we are expanding a lot in the U.S., so we have the momentum, which we can make France the center of Europe, and Europe needs this kind of AI technology.”

Son Doesn’t Rule Out Possibility Of AI Correction

While being optimistic, Son did not rule out the possibility of an AI correction, citing the 1929 Wall Street crash. “Now, if you look at the history, electronics and motorization crashed in 1929, but went up for many, many years, for the next 100 years after that… so there may be some correction, but that will be the best investment opportunity to me,” Son told CNBC.

“Even [during the] dotcom there was a bubble and burst, but then right after that, the peak of the dotcom bubble, the year 2000, was not really a peak. It was like a small hill. It went down, but then it went much, much bigger.”

SoftBank’s Heavy AI Bets

SoftBank is among the key players driving global growth in the AI data center footprint. Apart from the investment in France, the company has vowed to invest $500 billion in the U.S. as part of Project Stargate, building five new data centers capable of generating up to 10 gigawatts of compute power.

Through its Vision Fund, SoftBank is betting aggressively on AI companies, most notably Sam Altman’s OpenAI, in which it's the second-largest shareholder after Microsoft, with a valuation of nearly $65 billion.

SoftBank, through Project Izanagi, has also been looking to raise $100 billion for an AI chip venture to compete directly with Nvidia (NVDA).

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.