SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son has clearly stated that Elon Musk's proposed space-based data center solution has limited practical value. In his view, the ultimate winner of the artificial intelligence competition will be determined by ground-based computing power, not servers in space.

Space-Based Data Centers: Saving on Electricity Costs Is Not Worth It

On Tuesday local time, Son explained his judgment at the annual shareholders' meeting of SoftBank's mobile subsidiary. He pointed out that the core advantage of space-based data centers — significantly reducing electricity costs — is actually not a decisive factor. In data center operating costs, electricity expenses are much lower than the cost of purchasing and maintaining hardware such as chips. Even if some electricity costs can be saved, they would be offset by high transportation costs, in-orbit maintenance costs, and data transmission delays, making it unprofitable. When a shareholder asked whether SoftBank would follow SpaceX's ambitious vision, Son responded, "In this battle for artificial intelligence, what happens in the next few years is far more important than what may happen in ten years."

Investing in Ground-Based Infrastructure, Son Has Invested 65 Billion Dollars in OpenAI

Son praised Musk as a "remarkable driver of change," but emphasized that SoftBank's strategic focus has always been to build powerful data center computing power on Earth. As Japan's most influential technology investor, Son has invested about 65 billion dollars (441.15 billion yuan) in OpenAI and has promised to invest billions more to build data centers and supporting infrastructure globally.

Current global demand for computing power continues to surge, and both SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin have announced plans for orbital data centers, trying to break through the limitations of Earth's energy supply and space. However, Son has clearly chosen a different path. He acknowledges that competition in the global AI industry is becoming increasingly intense, but believes that OpenAI and its main competitor Anthropic, as well as Google, still have ample room for growth. He pointed out that the artificial intelligence industry is still in its early stages, with the market size having the potential to expand tenfold or even a hundredfold, and it is far from reaching a fixed structure.