SoftBank bets $4bn on AI’s physical backbone with DigitalBridge deal
SoftBank Group is making a decisive move to control the physical foundations of artificial intelligence.
The Japanese technology conglomerate announced it will acquire DigitalBridge Group, a leading global investor in digital infrastructure, in an all-cash deal valuing the company at approximately $4 billion. The acquisition underscores SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son’s long-standing conviction that the next phase of AI dominance will be won not just through models, but through ownership of the infrastructure required to run them at scale.
Under the terms of the agreement, SoftBank will pay $16 per share, representing a 15% premium to DigitalBridge’s December 26 closing price and roughly 50% above its unaffected 52-week average. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.
DigitalBridge will continue to operate independently under CEO Marc Ganzi, preserving its role as a global platform for investing in data centers, fiber networks, cell towers, and edge infrastructure.
From AI Models to AI Platforms
SoftBank framed the deal as a strategic extension of its ambition to build what Son calls Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI) , systems that exceed human intelligence and operate at planetary scale.
That vision, SoftBank argues, cannot be achieved through algorithms alone.
“As AI transforms industries worldwide, we need more compute, connectivity, power, and scalable infrastructure,” Son said in a statement. “DigitalBridge strengthens the foundation for next-generation AI data centers and advances our vision to become a leading ASI platform provider.”
The acquisition reflects a growing consensus across the AI industry: infrastructure is now the binding constraint. As model sizes balloon and inference demand explodes, shortages in data center capacity, power availability, and network connectivity are increasingly shaping who can deploy AI at scale, and who cannot.
DigitalBridge’s Strategic Value
DigitalBridge manages approximately $108 billion in digital infrastructure assets across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Its portfolio spans the critical layers needed to support modern AI systems, from hyperscale data centers to fiber backbones and edge networks that reduce latency.
For SoftBank, the deal offers more than financial exposure. It provides a platform capability: the ability to originate, finance, and operate AI-critical infrastructure globally, rather than relying on third-party capacity in an increasingly constrained market.
“The buildout of AI infrastructure represents one of the most significant investment opportunities of our generation,” said Ganzi. “SoftBank’s capital strength and long-term vision give us the flexibility to invest at scale and support the world’s leading technology companies as they expand their AI ambitions.”
A Shift in SoftBank’s AI Strategy
The acquisition marks a notable evolution in SoftBank’s approach to AI investing.
After years of high-profile bets on application-layer startups through its Vision Funds, some of which struggled to justify valuations, SoftBank has increasingly emphasized foundational layers: Arm’s chip architecture, large-scale compute, and now physical infrastructure.
Industry analysts see the DigitalBridge deal as part of a broader repositioning, aligning SoftBank with the emerging reality that AI advantage will depend as much on power, land, cooling, and connectivity as on neural network breakthroughs.
In this sense, SoftBank is betting that AI’s future winners will resemble utilities as much as software companies.
Risks and Realities
Despite its strategic logic, the deal is not without risk.
Large-scale infrastructure investments face regulatory scrutiny, long build cycles, and sensitivity to interest rates. AI demand projections remain aggressive, and oversupply risks loom if capacity ramps faster than adoption. Integrating infrastructure ownership with AI platform ambitions also introduces execution complexity.
SoftBank acknowledged these uncertainties in extensive forward-looking disclosures, noting regulatory approvals, market volatility, and integration risks as potential headwinds.
Still, the company appears comfortable making a long-duration bet.
Why This Deal Matters
If AI’s first chapter was about models, the next is about scale, and scale is physical.
By acquiring DigitalBridge, SoftBank is positioning itself not just as an investor in AI, but as a landlord of the AI economy, controlling the assets that determine where, how, and at what cost intelligence is produced and delivered.
In an era where compute scarcity increasingly defines competitive advantage, that may prove to be SoftBank’s most consequential AI bet yet.
