SoftBank Group Corp. CEO Masayoshi Son said Monday that the current artificial intelligence revolution is roughly 50 times larger than the dot-com boom [1].
This assessment suggests that the economic impact and scalability of AI will dwarf the internet expansion of the late 1990s and early 2000s. For investors and global markets, the claim signals that the technology is still in its early stages and possesses significant untapped growth potential [4].
During an interview with CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal, Son said the scale of the shift is significant. "The AI revolution will be 50 times bigger than the dot-com revolution," Son said [1]. He said the magnitude of the transition is more than 10 times, and likely 50 times, the size of the previous internet surge [2].
Son said the current environment is a major investment opportunity. He said that market corrections could provide the best entry points for those looking to capitalize on the technology's trajectory [4].
To support this vision of massive infrastructure growth, SoftBank has pursued significant capital deployments. The company has invested 75 billion euros, or approximately $87 billion, into AI infrastructure located in France [4].
This aggressive spending reflects Son's belief that the physical and digital foundations required for AI are vastly more complex and costly than those of the early web. The investment in France serves as a cornerstone for the company's broader strategy to lead the AI era [4].
“"The AI revolution will be 50 times bigger than the dot-com revolution."”
By comparing AI to the dot-com boom, Son is acknowledging the potential for volatility while arguing that the fundamental value creation is orders of magnitude higher. This perspective justifies SoftBank's massive capital expenditures on infrastructure, suggesting that the long-term utility of AI will permeate more sectors of the global economy than the internet did during its initial commercial explosion.
