On June 23, Bloomberg reported that Son made these comments during a regular shareholder meeting of SoftBank's telecommunications subsidiary. Responding to a shareholder's question about Musk's vision for a space data center, he stated, "Building a data center in space has limited practical benefits."
Son noted that while the potential for reduced energy costs is a benefit of a space data center, energy expenses do not constitute a significant portion of overall data center operating costs. He emphasized that the costs associated with hardware, such as AI semiconductors, represent a much larger burden.
He also pointed out the expenses related to launching equipment into space, maintenance challenges, and communication delays. This suggests that the additional costs and technical constraints during the construction and operation phases could outweigh the benefits of energy savings.
Son remarked, "The next few years in the AI competition are far more critical than what will happen in ten years." SoftBank plans to focus on enhancing its terrestrial data center capabilities rather than investing in space infrastructure.
He stressed, "The one who strikes first wins," highlighting the importance of speed in the AI infrastructure race. Companies that can secure large-scale computational power quickly are likely to gain a competitive edge in AI.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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