SoftBank plans to invest as much as $3 billion to overhaul an electric vehicle plant in Lordstown, Ohio, turning it into a manufacturing hub for equipment destined for OpenAI’s next wave of data centers, according to a report from The Information. The remodeled facility will supply hardware for OpenAI sites in Milam County, Texas, and other planned locations as the conglomerate steps deeper into the generative AI infrastructure race.
SoftBank purchased the Ohio site in August for $375 million after selling its $5.8 billion stake in Nvidia to help finance CEO Masayoshi Son’s aggressive AI strategy built around OpenAI. The effort ties into the companies’ previously announced Stargate initiative, a $500 billion plan involving OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank to establish five advanced AI data centers across the United States.
The Ohio facility will specialize in modular data centers—pre-assembled, portable units designed for rapid deployment and scalable on-site expansion. Production is expected to begin early next year, and the site will include a demonstration data center to showcase the technology.
The investment is part of a broader joint venture SoftBank detailed earlier this year, underscoring its commitment to expanding U.S. AI infrastructure. That initiative reflects a wider strategic push documented in recent analyses of SoftBank’s growing partnerships with OpenAI, including its Japan-based AI joint venture.
