SoftBank’s $4 Billion Move for DigitalBridge Reflects AI Infrastructure Urgency

SoftBank Group’s $4 billion move to acquire DigitalBridge Group reflects the urgency surrounding artificial intelligence infrastructure investment, the companies jointly announced. The transaction underscores founder Masayoshi Son’s determination to establish SoftBank’s leadership in the infrastructure layer supporting AI technologies.
The acquisition provides SoftBank with significantly broadened exposure to digital infrastructure assets, which supply the critical capabilities necessary for AI applications to function. Son has been reshaping SoftBank’s investment strategy around artificial intelligence, viewing it as the most significant technological transformation in a generation. The explosive demand for computing power to train and run AI systems has created substantial value in infrastructure sectors, which DigitalBridge’s portfolio comprehensively addresses.
DigitalBridge specializes in investing across digital infrastructure categories including datacenter facilities, telecommunications tower networks, fiber optic systems, small-cell infrastructure, and edge computing platforms. Portfolio companies include well-known names such as Vantage Data Centers, Zayo, Switch, and AtlasEdge. The firm’s journey from its 1991 origins as Colony Capital, a real estate investment company, to its current form occurred under CEO Marc Ganzi’s direction, involving the systematic exit from traditional property holdings and the 2021 rebrand.
Following the transaction, Ganzi will continue serving as CEO, with DigitalBridge maintaining operational independence as a separately managed platform. The financial scale is impressive: DigitalBridge oversaw roughly $108 billion in assets as of the end of September, establishing it as one of the premier institutional investors focused exclusively on digital infrastructure. This gives SoftBank immediate access to substantial assets and specialized expertise.
SoftBank’s commitment to AI infrastructure extends across multiple investments. The company is a principal partner in the Stargate project alongside OpenAI, Oracle, and MGX, a technology investment firm headquartered in Abu Dhabi. This collaborative effort involves multi-billion-dollar investments in large-scale computing infrastructure designed specifically for advanced AI development. The project includes plans for five computing centers in Texas, New Mexico, and Ohio with approximately 7 gigawatts of total power capacity.