Masayoshi Son, CEO of Japanese telecom firm SoftBank, plans to invest US$50 billion and create 50,000 jobs in the U.S. by pumping money into startups, he said after a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump.
Son gave few details Tuesday after the meeting with Trump, but he said his focus would be on U.S. startup companies. Son came to meet Trump and to celebrate the Republican’s election victory.
The $50 billion is half of an already announced $100 billion investment by SoftBank in the global technology industry over the next five years, Son later told the Wall Street Journal. That investment, done in partnership with Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund, was announced in October.
SoftBank controls Sprint, but it’s unclear if the $50 billion would include new investments in the company. Sprint, which has been struggling to compete in the U.S. mobile market, laid off about 2,500 of 33,000 employees back in January.
SoftBank purchased ARM, the U.K. chipmaker, for about $32 billion earlier this year.