SoftBank plans $500bn AI data hub in Ohio

SoftBank Group Corp. is advancing plans to build a massive AI-focused data center complex in Ohio, with Chief Executive Officer Masayoshi Son saying the project could channel up to $500 billion into a single campus.

The proposed facility would be located at a former uranium enrichment site owned by the US Department of Energy and is designed to support advanced AI computing operations, News.Az reports, citing Bloomberg.

The complex is expected to draw up to 10 gigawatts of power — enough to supply millions of homes.

The first phase of the project is projected to deliver around 800 megawatts of capacity, with an estimated cost of $30 billion to $40 billion and a target completion date in early 2028.

To support the energy demands, SoftBank plans to rely on approximately $33 billion in natural gas-fired electricity infrastructure, expected to be fully installed by the end of the decade.

The gas power initiative has been referenced by the Trump administration as part of a broader $550 billion US-Japan trade agreement. The company has already secured turbines for the project, with initial deliveries anticipated within a year, and full deployment scheduled by the decade’s end. The turbines will generate up to 9.2 gigawatts and be distributed across the region rather than concentrated at a single site.

Officials highlighted the scale of the undertaking, with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick describing it as potentially the largest construction project in the country during an announcement alongside Son and Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

SoftBank is seeking to build the AI computing complex, capable of drawing 10 gigawatts of power, at a former uranium enrichment complex owned by the US Energy Department. For context, a single gigawatt of capacity can power roughly 750,000 homes at any given moment. The company expects the first phase of the data center project to include about 800 megawatts of power, cost $30 billion to $40 billion and be completed in early 2028.

The project would be powered with roughly $33 billion worth of natural gas-fired electricity to be installed by the end of the decade.

While the Trump administration has cited SoftBank’s $33 billion gas project as part of a broader $550 billion US-Japan trade deal, this is the first detailed look at the associated AI data center plans. The company has sourced turbines for the gas project, the first of which is expected to be delivered within a year and and the rest will come online by the end of the decade, said Rich Hossfeld, co-chief executive officer of SoftBank-backed SB Energy. The turbines, capable of generating 9.2 gigawatts in total, will be installed across the region as opposed to at a single complex.

SB Energy said it plans an additional 800 megawatts of capacity for the data center, but provided no further details.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev