SoftBank's Son Picks Malaysia for $50 Billion AI and Data Center Investment, PM Anwar Says

SoftBank Group Corp. Chief Executive Masayoshi Son has selected locations in Malaysia for a technology investment program valued at $50 billion, according to Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, a commitment that would significantly expand the billionaire investor's global push into artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Anwar said he held a videoconference with Son last Tuesday, during which the Japanese technology investor indicated he had identified specific regions in Malaysia for projects that include data centers. Speaking in Melaka last Saturday, Anwar said Son had chosen Sarawak — specifically Kuching — and Peninsular Malaysia to anchor an outlay he described as among the largest investments in the region. "In what areas? AI, new technology and data centers," Anwar was quoted as saying.

The planned investment would add to SoftBank's growing portfolio of large-scale digital infrastructure commitments worldwide. The group is already developing a $500 billion data center-focused project in Ohio — one of the largest such undertakings globally — as well as a project in France that could cost as much as $84 billion. SoftBank representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Malaysia plans.

The announcement comes as Malaysia positions itself as a leading data center destination in Southeast Asia. In July, S&P Global Ratings said the country can overcome execution challenges to become one of the region's largest data center hubs, with capacity projected to nearly triple by 2030. The rating agency cited proximity to Singapore, strong connectivity and expanding power and water capacity as key advantages, even as rising costs and tighter approvals temper the pace of development. "Malaysia is slowing down to get ahead in data centers," S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Spencer Ng wrote at the time, describing a sector in "reset mode" that is shifting from rapid expansion toward sustainable growth.

For SoftBank, the Malaysia selection underscores Son's strategy of securing land, power and cross-border connectivity in markets where AI workloads are expected to grow rapidly. For Malaysia, a commitment of this scale would reinforce its ambition to capture a larger share of regional hyperscale and AI-driven demand, though it also places pressure on the country to accelerate grid, water and permitting infrastructure to support such large-scale development.