SoftBank CEO commits $100 billion investment to Trump, creating thousands of AI jobs

President-elect Donald Trump has secured a massive $100 billion investment from the Japanese firm SoftBank Group. He will be highlighting this significant deal at Mar-a-Lago, accompanied by CEO Masayoshi Son.

Trump unveiled this news during a media event at Mar-a-Lago, standing alongside his nominee for Treasury Secretary, Howard Lutnick. This marks one of the early public appearances by Trump since winning the presidential election.

The CEO of SoftBank Group, Masayoshi Son, made a commitment to create 100,000 new jobs in the United States. These jobs will focus on artificial intelligence and related infrastructure projects, providing a substantial boost to the economy during Trump’s upcoming term.

Trump pressured Son during the Mar-a-Lago media frenzy, asking him to commit to doubling his commitment to $200 billion, which he signaled he was open to doing. 

The investment is expected to happen before the end of Trump’s four-year term. 

The announcement comes on the heels of Trump promising to cut regulatory red tape for companies and individuals who pledge to invest at least $1 billion in the American economy. 

‘Any person or company investing ONE BILLION DOLLARS, OR MORE, in the United States of America, will receive fully expedited approvals and permits, including, but in no way limited to, all Environmental approvals,’ Trump posted to Truth Social on Tuesday. 

‘GET READY TO ROCK!!!’ he added. 

Trump largely won reelection last month due to his hardline positions on illegal immigration and pledges to bolster the economy, with post-COVID inflation still problematic for the American consumer. 

He’s since suggested that it may be difficult to bring down grocery prices. 

During his ‘Person of the Year’ interview last week with Time magazine he said it would be ‘very hard’ to bring down food prices but answered in the negative when asked if his second term would be a ‘failure’ if he didn’t accomplish that task.

‘I don’t think so. Look, they got them up,’ he said, pointing to the Biden-Harris administration. 

‘I’d like to bring them down. It’s hard to bring things down once they’re up. You know, it’s very hard,’ the president-elect added. 

The Biden White House tried to decrease household costs in other ways – tackling the prices of prescription drugs, for example, or junk fees – but many voters expressed dissatisfaction with the cost of food and fuel when casting a ballot for Trump.

Making investment pledges will be another way Trump can show he’s responding to Americans’ economic anguish. 

He’s also pledged to roll back Biden-era environmental regulations, often using the mantra ‘drill, baby, drill.’   

On Tuesday, Biden’s economic advisor Jared Bernstein suggested that there was some bipartisan work to be done cutting regulations but also cautioned doing it in a hasty manner. 

He was asked at the White House press briefing to respond to Trump’s pitch to cut regulations to companies investing more than $1 billion. 

‘We’ve had tremendous foreign direct investment, and yes, we’ve definitely tried to make – clean the brush out – to help diminish the burden for permitting and things like that and there’s more to do in that space,’ Bernstein said, after saying he would hesitate to respond to a Trump tweet.

‘And I think there are members of Congress – that is I believe a bipartisan issue that we could be working on. So if the Trump team is serious about trying to clear some of that brush, sure but one thing I hear too often from him and them is without regard for any impact of some of the guardrails that are there for a reason,’ Bernstein said.