Why the world’s most fearless investor wants to bet RM203 billion on Malaysia
Masayoshi Son has made and lost fortunes on a scale few of us can comprehend. If his Malaysian bet lands, the real prize won't be the data centres.
In October, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that Japanese billionaire Masayoshi Son has offered to invest RM203 billion (US$50 billion) in the country, primarily in AI, new technology and data centers. The SoftBank Group CEO made the offer during a video call with Anwar, outlining potential sites in Kuching, Sarawak and various locations in Peninsular Malaysia.
Son, known for his audacious investments, previously lost nearly US$70 billion during the dot-com bubble and later backed failed office-sharing firm WeWork. However, he rebounded with a current net worth of US$97 billion, making him Asia's richest person. Son's latest proposition is driven by his belief in artificial superintelligence (ASI), which he believes will be 10,000 times smarter than humans within a decade.
Malaysia, with its abundant data center-related investments and energy resources, is seen as an ideal location for Son's investment. The government and Sarawak have expressed interest in the deal, which could potentially create thousands of jobs, but concerns remain about the allocation of funds, job creation, and the use of clean energy.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
