SoftBank chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son told the SoftBank World meeting in Tokyo that he expects about 100 trillion AI agents and 1 billion humanoid robots by 2040, and that AI will be the largest industry in human history, contributing roughly 20% of global GDP. He said humanoid robots, operating 24/7, would be equivalent to roughly 3 billion workers and become central to the workforce. Son flagged data-center expansion as critical, forecasting AI-related power demand to double by 2040 and requ

SoftBank chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son told the SoftBank World meeting in Tokyo that he expects about 100 trillion AI agents and 1 billion humanoid robots by 2040, and that AI will be the largest industry in human history, contributing roughly 20% of global GDP. He said humanoid robots, operating 24/7, would be equivalent to roughly 3 billion workers and become central to the workforce. Son flagged data-center expansion as critical, forecasting AI-related power demand to double by 2040 and requiring about $5 trillion a year in investment (¥800 trillion). He said the AI revolution should not be limited to Japan and resources must be concentrated in the U.S. as the core battleground. Yomiuri reported the remarks.