Price of Singularity: Masayoshi Son Estimates Annual AI CAPEX at $5T by 2040

Talk of a technological bubble is being strictly shut down by the industry's primary architects. On July 14, 2026, at the SoftBank World conference, the conglomerate's head, Masayoshi Son, made a shocking public statement. According to his calculations, maintaining the development of artificial intelligence to the AGI level will require at least $5 trillion in capital investments annually up until 2040.

Son brushes off skeptics: the current valuations of AI startups and hyperscalers' spending on data centers (recall Meta's $50 billion) only seem inflated in a short-term paradigm. Superintelligence infrastructure requires a complete overhaul of the global energy and silicon balance. SoftBank's statements are a signal to institutional capital. The industry no longer measures success by quarterly reports; it is about the long-term absorption of global GDP to create an autonomous digital ecosystem. Those not ready to burn trillions today will forever remain on the sidelines of technological evolution.

Source: SoftBank Group / Reuters