SoftBank Group is strengthening its position in artificial intelligence infrastructure through a $4 billion acquisition of DigitalBridge Group, the companies confirmed. The transaction represents another significant investment in founder Masayoshi Son’s campaign to position SoftBank at the epicenter of the AI revolution.
This deal substantially expands SoftBank’s footprint in digital infrastructure, which encompasses the essential assets and systems that enable AI applications to operate. Son has been directing SoftBank’s capital toward artificial intelligence, characterizing it as the most significant technological transformation in a generation. The extraordinary demand for computing resources to train and run AI systems has created lucrative opportunities in infrastructure investment, which DigitalBridge’s portfolio captures.
DigitalBridge’s investment focus covers critical digital infrastructure including datacenters, cell towers, fiber networks, small-cell systems, and edge infrastructure. Portfolio companies include well-known entities such as Vantage Data Centers, Zayo, Switch, and AtlasEdge. The firm’s evolution from its 1991 origins as Colony Capital, a real estate investment firm, to today’s digital infrastructure specialist occurred under CEO Marc Ganzi, who led the strategic pivot away from traditional real estate and the 2021 rebrand.
Following the acquisition, Ganzi will remain at the helm as CEO, with DigitalBridge functioning as a separately managed platform. The financial scale is impressive: DigitalBridge had around $108 billion in assets under management as of the end of September, establishing it as among the largest dedicated investors in digital infrastructure globally. This provides SoftBank with immediate scale and expertise in a rapidly growing sector.
SoftBank’s commitment to AI infrastructure is demonstrated across multiple investments. The company is a principal backer of the Stargate project, partnering with OpenAI, Oracle, and MGX, a technology investment firm based in Abu Dhabi. This collaborative effort involves multi-billion-dollar investments in large-scale computing infrastructure designed specifically for advanced AI development. Current plans include five computing centers in Texas, New Mexico, and Ohio with a combined power capacity of about 7 gigawatts.
60