SoftBank to Invest $500 Billion in Ohio AI Data Center

SoftBank Group Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son announced a colossal $500 billion investment to construct a 10-gigawatt artificial intelligence data center in Piketon, Ohio, describing it as the largest construction project in the United States. The initiative, slated to begin this year, will transform the decommissioned Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Pike County into the "PORTS Technology Campus" and is a key part of a broader U.S.-Japan trade agreement aimed at bolstering American AI leadership. The project includes plans for 9.2 gigawatts of natural gas-fired power plants, with SoftBank's affiliate, SB Energy, partnering with AEP Ohio for power generation and transmission. U.S. Secretaries Chris Wright (Energy), Howard Lutnick (Commerce), and Doug Burgum (Interior) attended the announcement, highlighting federal government support. The investment, which also covers AI-related semiconductors, is backed by $33.3 billion in Japanese funding for the gas generation and involves a consortium of 21 Japanese and U.S. companies, including Mizuho Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and Goldman Sachs. Officials anticipate the project will create thousands of jobs and spur research in advanced fields. Despite the economic promises, the exponential growth in AI data centers is facing increasing public backlash across the U.S. due to concerns over substantial water and electricity consumption, and local infrastructure impacts. In Ohio, specifically, a petition has been filed to propose a constitutional ban on mega data centers statewide, reflecting broader anxieties about the environmental and societal costs of AI development, which SoftBank's project will need to address.