SoftBank Group is expanding its artificial intelligence infrastructure empire through a $4 billion acquisition of DigitalBridge Group, the companies announced jointly. The transaction reflects billionaire Masayoshi Son’s conviction that controlling infrastructure assets will be key to capturing value from the AI revolution.
The deal significantly broadens SoftBank’s presence in digital infrastructure, providing the foundation for AI application deployment at scale. Son has been reshaping SoftBank’s portfolio to focus on artificial intelligence, which he characterizes as the most important technological shift in a generation. The extraordinary growth in demand for computing resources to power AI systems has created lucrative opportunities in infrastructure investment, which DigitalBridge’s assets directly address.
DigitalBridge has assembled a portfolio focused on critical digital infrastructure categories including datacenter facilities, telecommunications tower networks, fiber optic systems, small-cell infrastructure, and edge computing platforms. Portfolio companies include industry leaders such as Vantage Data Centers, Zayo, Switch, and AtlasEdge. The firm’s evolution from its 1991 inception as real estate investor Colony Capital to today’s digital infrastructure specialist occurred under Marc Ganzi’s leadership, involving the systematic exit from traditional real estate and the 2021 rebrand to DigitalBridge.
Following the acquisition, Ganzi will retain his role as CEO with DigitalBridge functioning as a separately managed platform. The scale of what SoftBank is acquiring is substantial: DigitalBridge oversaw roughly $108 billion in assets as of September 30, positioning it among the world’s largest dedicated digital infrastructure investors. This established platform provides SoftBank with immediate credibility and reach across the sector.
SoftBank’s investment in AI infrastructure extends across multiple fronts. The company is a principal backer of the Stargate project, partnering with OpenAI, Oracle, and MGX, an Abu Dhabi-based technology investor. This ambitious initiative involves multi-billion-dollar investments in large-scale computing infrastructure purpose-built for advanced AI development. Current plans include five computing facilities in Texas, New Mexico, and Ohio with approximately 7 gigawatts of total power capacity.