Reviewed by Gotrade Internal Analyst
Jakarta, Gotrade News - SoftBank Group has just agreed to acquire data center firm DigitalBridge in a deal worth US$4 billion (around Rp64 trillion). This aggressive play confirms that the tech war for AI has shifted—it's no longer just about building language models, but about controlling the physical infrastructure.
The deal was struck at US$16 per share, offering a 15 percent premium over the last market closing price.
Key Takeaways
- SoftBank is shifting gears from a passive investor to an active operator of AI infrastructure.
- The main bottleneck for AI isn't software anymore; it's the availability of electricity and data center real estate.
- The acquisition price reflects the urgency to own physical assets amidst the explosion in compute demand.
Shifting Investment Focus
This acquisition reveals a major change in strategy from Masayoshi Son, SoftBank's CEO. Previously, the conglomerate chose to sell off its entire Nvidia stake—worth US$5.83 billion—to secure fresh capital.
According to a report by The Tech Buzz, this move was done so SoftBank could pivot from being a financial investor to an owner-operator of critical systems.
DigitalBridge CEO Marc Ganzi stated that the buildout of AI infrastructure represents one of the most significant investment opportunities of this generation. The company will continue to operate as a separate platform under Ganzi’s leadership once the transaction wraps up in the second half of 2026.
The Scramble for Physical Space
The urgency behind this deal is driven by a new reality in the tech sector: the AI bottleneck isn't code, it's silicon, power, and property.
SoftBank has stated its primary mission is to realize Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI), which requires infrastructure on a massive scale.
This context matters because tech giants like Microsoft Corporation and Alphabet Inc. are currently racing to build specialized data centers.
On the other hand, Amazon.com, Inc. via AWS continues to dominate cloud infrastructure, but physical capacity for raw materials is becoming increasingly constrained.
With US$108 billion in assets under management, DigitalBridge gives SoftBank an immediate foothold to control the foundation where these AI models run.
Reference:
- The Tech Buzz, SoftBank Acquires DigitalBridge for $4B AI Push. Accessed on December 30, 2025
- DigitalBridge, Press Release Details. Accessed on December 30, 2025
- Featured Image: Shutterstock
Disclaimer
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