SoftBank, a Japanese telecommunications giant, has announced an agreement with Foxconn-backed Sharp to invest approximately ¥1 trillion (about $7.2 billion) in acquiring land and factory buildings at Sharp’s Sakai Plant. The facility will be transformed into an AI data center slated for operation by 2026.

On Friday, SoftBank revealed that it had signed a purchase agreement with Sharp to acquire assets valued at approximately ¥1 trillion from the company's LCD panel plant in Sakai City. The plan involves utilizing roughly 45,000 square meters of land and around 84,000 square meters of building floor space for constructing an AI data center capable of a power capacity of about 150MW (megawatts), with operations expected to begin by 2026. SoftBank also anticipates expanding its future electricity supply up to 250 MW.

This facility will support the research and development of generative AI, as well as other related artificial intelligence businesses. Furthermore, it will be made available for external use by entities such as universities, research institutions, and enterprises.

Sharp announced on Friday that it would sell its land and factory buildings at Sakai Plant to SoftBank for approximately ¥1 trillion (about $7.2 billion), projecting a profit of ¥754.24 billion from the sale within this fiscal year ending March next year.

(Translated with permission by MoneyDJ News; Image source: Flickr/MIKI Yoshihito CC BY 2.0)