Japanese entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist; founder and CEO of SoftBank
Galleries have been shrinking and business models have been under sustained pressure at Art Basel this month, while major players have been narrowing investments and reshaping portfolios across regions. SoftBank has reduced deal activity in Latin America; Pace has cut artists and staff; recruitment firm Hays has sold operations; and community art projects and private collectors are adapting their approaches.
A wave of tests and product launches shows the tech industry pressing to give AI a physical form. From gig-data data collection to consumer humanoids, firms are racing to turn digital intelligence into real-world Lab-to-life tools.
SoftBank has announced a €75bn plan to build AI data centres in northern France and to develop up to 5GW of capacity by 2031. Governments and companies are tightening domestic energy plans in response, prompting talks on interconnectors, local refineries and nuclear or modular-reactor options to meet the data centres’ huge electricity demand.
The Insolvency Service has disqualified Lex Greensill from directing UK companies for nine years after finding he breached his duties as a director; the action follows the 2021 collapse of Greensill Capital and related investigations.
SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has argued that building data centers in space is unlikely to cut costs and will not quickly become essential in the AI race, emphasizing Earth-based compute instead. The remarks come as SpaceX and other firms expand cloud-style compute off Earth, with analysts weighing the long-term feasibility.
Federal regulators are directing grid operators to streamline interconnections for AI data centers, with data centers paying upgrade costs. The move aims to support AI growth while protecting consumers, but critics warn it could stress reliability and raise bills.