Masayoshi Son projects AI data centers will need 1.8 times current global energy consumption and calls skeptics of AI growth 'irrational'
Masayoshi Son has never been accused of thinking small. At SoftBank’s annual corporate conference on July 14, the billionaire founder and CEO laid out a vision for artificial intelligence that makes most tech forecasts look like grocery lists: $5 trillion in annual AI investment by 2040, or roughly 800 trillion yen.
To put that number in perspective, it’s more than the entire GDP of Japan. Every single year. And Son thinks people worried about an AI bubble are the ones being unreasonable.
The case against calling it a bubble #
Son’s argument is deceptively simple. If AI revenues eventually represent 20% of global GDP, as he projects, then $5 trillion in annual spending is actually modest relative to the returns.
At SoftBank’s annual general meeting on June 24, Son characterized skeptics of AI’s growth trajectory as “irrational.” He also set a net asset value target of 1 quadrillion yen, approximately $6 trillion, for SoftBank itself. Son stated the AI revolution could be “50 times bigger” than the dot-com boom.
SoftBank is putting real money where Son’s mouth is. The company’s cumulative investments in OpenAI are expected to exceed $60 billion by the end of 2026.
The energy equation nobody wants to talk about #
Son projected that AI data centers will need to produce approximately 3 terawatts of power by 2040. That’s 1.8 times the current total global energy consumption.
What this means for crypto and digital asset investors #
The energy angle is more tangible. Bitcoin mining operations and AI data centers are increasingly competing for the same power resources. If Son’s 3-terawatt projection even gets halfway to reality, the competition for cheap electricity will intensify dramatically.
SoftBank’s $60 billion-plus commitment to OpenAI alone represents a concentration of capital that dwarfs the entire market cap of most crypto ecosystems.
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