Copying the Shenzhen Miracle? Masayoshi Son teams up with Taiwan Semiconductor, aiming to invest $1 trillion in building an AI robot city in the U.S
Masayoshi Son plans to build a trillion-dollar AI robot manufacturing park in Arizona, USA, codenamed "Project Crystal Land," intending to replicate the "Shenzhen manufacturing center" model and relocate the industrial chain back to the United States. Its core strategy is to attract cooperation from giants like Taiwan Semiconductor and is actively lobbying the U.S. government (especially the Trump team) for tax incentives and other support
67-year-old Masayoshi Son is betting his fortune again, this time aiming to replicate a "Shenzhen" in the United States—a trillion-dollar AI robotics manufacturing hub. The SoftBank leader has begun lobbying Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to join and has been in frequent contact with the Trump team.
According to the latest report from Bloomberg, SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son is advancing a super industrial park plan worth up to $1 trillion, attempting to persuade tech giants like TSMC to jointly build the world's largest AI robotics manufacturing center in Arizona. This ambitious project, codenamed "Project Crystal Land," is seen as the boldest bet of the Japanese billionaire's career.
The Arizona industrial park envisioned by Son will become the American version of the "Shenzhen manufacturing center," specializing in the production of AI-driven industrial robots. According to insiders, SoftBank's management is actively inviting TSMC to play a significant role in the project, even though TSMC has already planned to invest $165 billion in the U.S. and has begun mass production at its first factory in Arizona.
Portfolio companies of SoftBank's Vision Fund are expected to be among the first to settle in the park, including startups like Agile Robots SE, which focuses on robotics and automation technology, potentially establishing production facilities there.
Stimulated by this news, SoftBank's stock price rose 2.7% in Tokyo on Friday, while TSMC's U.S. stock price increased by 1.9%.
Government Support as a Key Variable
A key factor in the project's success is obtaining strong support from the Trump administration and state governments. Reports indicate that SoftBank's management has been negotiating with federal and state government officials regarding potential tax incentive policies, including discussions with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.
Masayoshi Son has also personally inquired about participation intentions from several tech companies, and the project has been promoted to executives of South Korean companies like Samsung Electronics.
It is noteworthy that while the total investment for the project is expected to reach up to $1 trillion, the actual scale will depend on the level of participation from large tech companies. If successful, Son plans to build multiple cutting-edge industrial parks in the U.S.
Funding Sources in Question
In light of such a massive funding requirement, SoftBank is exploring a financing model for the Stargate data center project, which allows SoftBank to raise funds on a project-by-project basis, significantly reducing initial capital pressure.
As of the end of March, SoftBank's cash reserves stood at 3.4 trillion yen (approximately $23 billion), with net assets reaching 25.7 trillion yen, of which Arm Holdings accounts for the largest share. This month, SoftBank also raised $4.8 billion by selling about a quarter of its shares in T-Mobile US However, this ambitious plan is just part of Masayoshi Son's AI layout. SoftBank is also advancing a $30 billion investment in OpenAI, a $6.5 billion acquisition of Ampere Computing, and the Stargate project in collaboration with OpenAI, Oracle, and Abu Dhabi MGX
