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Photo = Yonhap news |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] Japan's SoftBank Group is reportedly considering building AI-equipped industrial parks across the United States.
According to a Nikkei report on Friday, Masayoshi Son, Chairman of SoftBank, is expected to visit the U.S. soon to present his "Industrial Park Initiative", potentially pledging an investment of over $1 trillion (KRW 1,470 trillion) to the U.S. government.
With former U.S. President Donald Trump signaling tariff hikes on various countries, the initiative appears to be aimed at demonstrating Japan’s contribution to U.S. manufacturing by utilizing AI-powered robots to enhance factory efficiency.
Nikkei reported that SoftBank’s envisioned industrial parks would include unmanned factories, where AI predicts demand and designs production lines to address labor shortages. The report added that AI would be applied to production processes across a wide range of industries, including smartphones, automobiles, and air conditioners, reducing human involvement.
SoftBank is also considering integrating humanoid autonomous robots and leveraging technologies from a German robotics company backed by its Vision Fund.
Additionally, SoftBank, which is collaborating with OpenAI on AI development, is exploring ways to involve Taiwan’s Foxconn (Hon Hai Precision Industry) in the industrial park project.
Previously, in January, SoftBank unveiled the "Stargate" project, a joint venture with OpenAI and Oracle to establish data centers in the U.S., committing up to $500 billion (KRW 735 trillion) over the next four years.
AlphaBIZ Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
