SoftBank's Son says AI revolution dwarfs dotcom boom

Investing.com -- SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son has told CNBC that the artificial intelligence revolution will far surpass the scale of the dotcom era, and said any market correction along the way would represent a buying opportunity rather than a reason for concern.

Speaking to CNBC in Paris, Son said, "I think this is like more than 10x, probably 50x bigger than dotcom," drawing a parallel with the early internet era and arguing that the dotcom crash, painful as it was, ultimately proved a minor setback in a far longer growth story.

Son dismissed concerns about a potential downturn, telling CNBC that "there's always a correction," and pointing to the 1929 Wall Street crash as a historical precedent where markets eventually recovered and advanced for decades. He framed any future pullback as the best opportunity to invest.

The comments came after SoftBank announced it would invest €75 billion, or roughly $87 billion, to build AI infrastructure in France.

It is the Japanese investment group's largest such commitment in Europe. The plan includes constructing 3.1 gigawatts of AI data center capacity in the Hauts-de-France region by 2031, with sites in Dunkirk, Bosquel and Bouchain, as part of a total 5-gigawatt buildout.

SoftBank is partnering with French engineering firm Schneider Electric on a large-scale industrial production hub in Dunkirk.

Son made the remarks during a press briefing alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, framing France as a potential AI hub for Europe.

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