SoftBank Invests Heavily in AI Future with $4B DigitalBridge Acquisition

SoftBank Group is investing heavily in the artificial intelligence future through a $4 billion acquisition of DigitalBridge Group, the companies jointly announced. The transaction underscores founder Masayoshi Son’s belief that infrastructure assets will be fundamental to the next wave of technological advancement.
This acquisition gives SoftBank significantly expanded exposure to digital infrastructure, which supplies the critical capabilities necessary for AI systems to operate at scale. Son has been directing SoftBank’s investment strategy toward artificial intelligence, viewing it as the most important technological transformation in a generation. The massive growth in demand for computing resources to train and run AI applications has created substantial opportunities in infrastructure, which DigitalBridge’s portfolio comprehensively captures.
DigitalBridge specializes in digital infrastructure investments encompassing datacenter properties, telecommunications towers, fiber optic networks, small-cell wireless systems, and edge computing facilities. The company’s holdings include well-known businesses like Vantage Data Centers, Zayo, Switch, and AtlasEdge. Founded in 1991 as Colony Capital with a concentration on traditional real estate, the firm underwent a complete strategic transformation led by CEO Marc Ganzi, exiting legacy property investments and rebranding as DigitalBridge in 2021.
Under the acquisition agreement, Ganzi will continue as CEO with DigitalBridge operating as an independently managed platform. The scale of the investment is considerable: DigitalBridge managed roughly $108 billion in assets as of the end of September, positioning it among the world’s premier institutional investors focused exclusively on digital infrastructure. This gives SoftBank immediate access to substantial assets and specialized knowledge.
SoftBank’s involvement in AI infrastructure includes multiple major projects. The company is a principal backer of the Stargate project alongside OpenAI, Oracle, and MGX, a technology investment firm based in Abu Dhabi. This collaborative venture involves multi-billion-dollar investments in large-scale computing infrastructure designed specifically for advanced AI development. Plans include five computing centers in Texas, New Mexico, and Ohio with a total power capacity of approximately 7 gigawatts.