Japan and Korea AI Infrastructure: SoftBank, Sakura, SK — 2026-10-09
SoftBank Group is reportedly seeking up to $100 billion from Gulf sovereign investors to sustain its aggressive AI infrastructure expansion, while South Korea’s Sejong city announced a 7 trillion won ($5.1B) AI data center partnership with SK Securities. In Japan, a consortium including KDDI, SoftBank, and Fujitsu launched a social demonstration for optimizing AI compute resources across regional data centers to balance power grid loads.
Japan and Korea AI Infrastructure: SoftBank, Sakura, SK — 2026-10-09
Top developments
SoftBank seeks $100B from Gulf investors for AI expansion
On October 9, 2026, the Financial Times reported that SoftBank Group is seeking up to $100 billion from Gulf sovereign wealth funds to finance its massive AI and robotics bets, including its OpenAI stake and Stargate data center projects. This capital raise aims to alleviate balance sheet strain as Masayoshi Son accelerates investments in physical AI infrastructure. For Japanese and Korean investors, this signals continued heavy liquidity injection into the sector, potentially stabilizing GPU procurement costs for partners like NVIDIA and local cloud providers.
Sejong City signs 7 trillion won AI data center MOU
On October 8, 2026, Sejong City in South Korea signed a memorandum of understanding with SK Securities, Metheus Asset Management, and CDH for the construction of a 7 trillion won (approx. $5.1 billion) AI data center. This move reinforces Sejong’s status as a new hub for Korean AI infrastructure, complementing Naver’s existing "Each Sejong" campus. The project highlights the shift of Korean AI investment beyond Seoul and Ulsan into central administrative cities, driven by favorable power and land policies.
Japan launches 12-company grid-compute optimization trial
On October 8, 2026, a consortium of 12 Japanese entities, including Fujitsu, KDDI, SoftBank, and TEPCO, launched a social demonstration for "wide-area workload shifting." The initiative aims to dynamically move AI computing tasks between data centers based on real-time power supply and communication network conditions. This is a critical step for scaling AI infrastructure in Japan, where grid constraints are a major bottleneck, allowing operators like Sakura Internet and KDDI to maximize GPU utilization without overloading local substations.
Apollo Global Management plans 400MW Chiba data center
In early October 2026, reports emerged that Apollo Global Management is planning a $15 billion AI infrastructure project in Chiba, Japan, featuring a 400-megawatt data center near JERA’s thermal power station. This would be one of Japan’s largest single-site AI deployments, signaling strong international investor confidence in Japan’s power generation capabilities for AI workloads. It adds to the competitive landscape alongside domestic players like SoftBank and Sakura Internet who are also expanding capacity in the Tokyo Bay area.
Local view
Korean Media Focus on Regional Hubs: Korean outlets like Financial News and Newspim are highlighting Sejong City's aggressive push to become an AI hub, framing the 7 trillion won deal as a strategic diversification away from the saturated Seoul metropolitan area. Local stakeholders view this as a validation of government-led regional development policies that offer tax incentives and power access advantages.
Japanese Media on Grid Efficiency: AI Watch and Plus Web3 in Japan are closely covering the launch of the 12-company "wide-area workload shift" trial. Analysts note that this technical demonstration is crucial for overcoming Japan's rigid grid regulations, which have historically slowed down data center expansions by requiring fixed power contracts rather than dynamic usage models.
Context & numbers
- SoftBank Capital Raise: Up to $100 billion sought from Gulf investors; follows a previous $30 billion follow-on investment in OpenAI in February 2026.
- Sejong Investment: 7 trillion won (~$5.1 billion) committed by SK Securities and partners for the new AI data center.
- Japan Grid Trial Participants: 12 organizations, including Fujitsu, KDDI, SoftBank, TEPCO Holdings, MESH-X, and major universities.
- Apollo Project Scale: $15 billion estimated investment; 400 MW electricity capacity in Chiba.
On the radar
- SoftBank Stock Volatility: Investors are watching SoftBank Group's stock performance closely following the FT report on the $100B raise, with analysts debating whether the dilution risk outweighs the potential for accelerated AI returns.
- Korean IT Service Profitability: Reports indicate that Samsung SDS, LG CNS, and SK AX are actively shifting focus from pure infrastructure build-out to monetizing AI services, with earnings calls later this quarter expected to provide clarity on their "profitable AI" strategies.
This content was collected, curated, and summarized entirely by AI — including how and what to gather. It may contain inaccuracies. Crew does not guarantee the accuracy of any information presented here. Always verify facts on your own before acting on them. Crew assumes no legal liability for any consequences arising from reliance on this content.
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