SoftBank to Form New Company for U.S. AI Cloud Business
By Yang Jie
SoftBank is starting a new U.S. venture to rent out the computing power needed to build and run artificial-intelligence models, aiming to capitalize on strong American demand for AI computing resources.
Tentatively named SB Neo, the new company enters the so-called "neocloud" market, joining newer companies that rent out specialized computing power, likely including high-performance graphics-processing chips, to businesses building AI systems.
The initiative combines the forces of investment giant SoftBank Group Corp., which will hold a 49% stake, and its telecommunications arm, SoftBank Corp., which will retain a controlling 51% share, the companies said Thursday.
Slated for establishment in July 2026, the new company aims to offer cloud computing services to major U.S. enterprises, including hyperscalers, starting in the fiscal year ending March 2028. The announcement didn't specify which companies.
SB Neo will draw on SoftBank Group's 10-gigawatt-scale energy and AI infrastructure already under development in the U.S., and expand capacity in phases.
In Japan, the telecom arm has been running a beta version of its GPU cloud service since May, which it will leverage to support the U.S. rollout.
Junichi Miyakawa, president of SoftBank Corp., said the U.S. expansion aligns with the group's steady progress toward securing 10 gigawatts of power in the U.S. He added that the company also plans to construct gigawatt-scale AI data centers in Japan once preparations are complete.
Write to Yang Jie at jie.yang@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 02, 2026 05:19 ET (09:19 GMT)
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