SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son to CNBC

The AI ​​revolution is 50 times bigger than the dotcom revolution of the 2000s. SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son told CNBC on Monday.

“I think it’s more than 10 times bigger than dotcom, probably 50 times bigger,” Son told CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal in Paris, after the company announced it would invest 75 billion euros ($87 billion) to build AI infrastructure in France, including 5 GW of AI data center capacity.

The SoftBank chief said the dotcom crash was a painful blowout and proved to be just a minor blip in a much larger, long-term growth story.

“This is the biggest technology and awareness revolution humanity has ever experienced, so it’s just like the beginning of the internet,” Son added.

When asked about his concerns about a potential crisis, Son said “there’s always a correction,” referring to the Wall Street crash of 1929.

“Now, if you look at history, electronics and motorization crashed in 1929, but it went up for many years, 100 years after that… so there might be some correction, but this will be the best investment opportunity for me.”

Softbank’s investment, the largest AI infrastructure investment in Europe, involves building 3.1 GW of AI data centers in the northern Hauts-de-France region, including Dunkirk, Bosquel and Bouchain, by 2031.

Speaking to reporters at a press conference held with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, Son said, “A very big investment is coming.” “We’re already doing this in the US, we’re expanding a lot in the US, so we have the momentum to make France the center of Europe, and Europe needs this kind of AI technology.”

Japanese investment giant forms partnership with French engineering company Schneider Electric Establishing a large-scale industrial production center in Dunkirk as part of the wider structure.