SoftBank acquires Foxconn's Ohio plant to jumpstart Stargate AI project.

SoftBank Group Corp is acquiring Foxconn's Ohio plant to launch its $500 billion Stargate data center project with OpenAI and Oracle Corp. The acquisition is reportedly aimed at jumpstarting the Stargate project, which aims to create a massive data center complex in the US. The deal has not been officially confirmed by either party.

SoftBank Group Corp is reportedly acquiring Foxconn Technology Group's electric vehicle plant in Ohio, aiming to boost its $500 billion Stargate data center project with OpenAI and Oracle Corp. The acquisition, which has not been officially confirmed by either party, is part of SoftBank's broader strategy to establish a significant data center complex in the United States.

According to Bloomberg News [1], the deal involves SoftBank purchasing the Ohio plant, which is located in Lordstown and spans 6.2 million square feet. The site was previously owned by Foxconn and sold to a newly established entity named 'Crescent Dune LLC' for $375 million. The acquisition is seen as a key step in SoftBank's plans to involve Foxconn in the Stargate project, which aims to create a robust AI infrastructure.

The Ohio site may be repurposed to host a data center as part of the Stargate initiative, Bloomberg reported. This move aligns with SoftBank's broader vision to build data centers and related infrastructure throughout the U.S. The acquisition comes after U.S. President Donald Trump announced the Stargate project in January, a private sector investment of up to $500 billion for AI infrastructure.

SoftBank, which has struggled to create a financial plan for Stargate, approached Foxconn to get the Apple supplier on board with its plan. The Stargate Project is expected to create more than 100,000 jobs in the U.S.

The acquisition of the Ohio plant is part of a broader trend in the tech industry, where companies are investing heavily in data centers to support their AI and cloud computing initiatives. SoftBank's Stargate project is one of the largest such initiatives, with a projected investment of $500 billion.

The construction of the first Stargate data center is currently underway in Abilene, Texas. The Abilene campus is being developed by Crusoe in partnership with Oracle, on land owned by Lancium, and is expected to eventually have eight buildings and a total of 1.2GW of capacity. Phase I of the Abilene project, featuring two buildings and more than 200MW, began in June 2024 and was expected to be energized in the first half of 2025, while the second phase, consisting of six more buildings and another gigawatt of capacity, began in March 2025 and is expected to be energized in mid-2026.

Despite the ambitious goals, the project has faced some challenges. In July 2024, the Wall Street Journal reported that SoftBank's CEO, Masayoshi Son, and OpenAI leader Sam Altman have clashed over the terms of the partnership deal, including where to build the data centers. Despite these challenges, the project is expected to create significant economic and technological benefits.

References:
[1] https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/softbank-buys-foxconns-ohio-plant-advance-stargate-ai-push-bloomberg-news-2025-08-08/
[2] https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/softbank-named-as-buyer-of-foxconn-ohio-factory-site-could-eventually-host-a-stargate-data-center-report/
[3] https://seekingalpha.com/news/4482481-softbank-acquires-foxconns-ohio-ev-facility-to-potentially-boost-stargate-project
[4] https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/softbank-acquires-foxconns-ohio-ev-plant-for-stargate-data-center-project--report-93CH-4180125