SoftBank's Strategic Move into AI Compute

In response to the explosive global demand for computing power driven by artificial intelligence, SoftBank Group and its telecommunications subsidiary, SoftBank Corp., have unveiled a major strategic initiative. The two entities will jointly establish a new company in the United States named SB Neo, tasked with operating a new AI-focused cloud service dubbed "neocloud."

Joint Venture Structure and Roadmap

SB Neo is slated for establishment in July 2026. Under the agreed structure, SoftBank Corp. will hold a 51% stake, with the parent SoftBank Group owning 49%. The core mission of this venture is clear: to provide the computational resources necessary for large-scale AI model training and inference to major enterprises in the U.S.

Its operations will be built upon SoftBank Group's ambitious global infrastructure project—a network of energy and AI facilities targeting a scale of 10 gigawatts. SB Neo aims to officially launch its neocloud service by the end of the fiscal year 2027.

Phased Expansion to Meet Demand

The insatiable demand for AI compute in the U.S. market represents one of the most pressing challenges in the tech sector. To address this, SB Neo has adopted a phased expansion strategy. Following the initial service rollout, the company plans subsequent deployments of additional AI infrastructure, also targeting a 10-gigawatt scale, to incrementally boost its capacity and market reach.

Substantial Profit Potential

This move into the U.S. cloud services market is seen as a pivotal step for SoftBank to secure a new growth engine. Industry observers suggest that successfully operating the neocloud service could deliver significant financial returns. According to insiders, it has the potential to increase SoftBank Corp.'s annual operating profit by three to fourfold, reaching a range of ¥3 trillion to ¥4 trillion (approximately $18.5 billion to $25 billion).

This initiative signals SoftBank's strategic pivot from its traditional telecom and investment roles towards becoming a front-line operator of AI infrastructure, aiming to capture a larger share of the multi-hundred-billion-dollar cloud computing market.