SoftBank plans massive U.S. power plant for AI data centres

Japan's SoftBank Group said Saturday it plans to physique a immense caller gas-fired powerfulness works successful the US authorities of Ohio to supply vigor for artificial quality information centres.

Tech capitalist SoftBank is simply a large backer of ChatGPT shaper OpenAI, and its flamboyant CEO Masayoshi Son is simply a long-time state of U.S. President Donald Trump.

The natural-gas works is portion of a broader $550 cardinal Japanese concern successful the United States that Tokyo agreed to successful speech for reduced commercialized tariffs.

Construction of the $33.3 cardinal powerfulness works with a "large-scale" powerfulness procreation capableness of 9.2 gigawatts (GW) volition instrumentality spot astatine the US Department of Energy's Portsmouth site, SoftBank said.

"This is simply a size bigger than immoderate powerfulness plant, I think, successful the world," Son said astatine a ceremonial successful Ohio to denote the project, connected Friday section time.

"At slightest successful the United States, for sure, this is the biggest powerfulness procreation successful 1 location," helium added.

The extremity is to make "the smartest quality successful the world", Son said.

The 9.2 GW gas-fired works is portion of an wide program for the tract to powerfulness 10 GW of information centre capacity, the US Department of Energy said successful a statement.

"Once a cornerstone of America's nationalist information during the Cold War - enriching uranium for our nation's defence - the Portsmouth tract is present being transformed to assistance the United States triumph the AI race," it said.

SoftBank connected Saturday announced a consortium with large American and Japanese firms to assistance physique the works and make AI infrastructure successful Ohio.

Data centres that tin bid and tally chatbots, representation generators and different AI tools are being built connected a melodramatic standard worldwide arsenic an concern roar into the fast-evolving exertion shows nary motion of slowing.

A survey past period recovered that concern concern surged by astir a 3rd successful 2025 acknowledgment to concern successful AI and information centres successful the United States.