Foxconn, in collaboration with Japan’s SoftBank, will begin manufacturing data center equipment at a facility in Ohio that previously assembled electric vehicles, as part of a broader push to bolster U.S. artificial intelligence infrastructure under the Stargate initiative.
The Taiwanese tech giant confirmed on Monday that SoftBank has acquired the Lordstown manufacturing site, a transaction previously disclosed in early July but with the purchaser remaining unnamed at the time. Foxconn Chairman Young Liu told reporters the two companies will now establish a joint venture to operate the facility, which was sold by Foxconn for $375 million.
The Stargate project is a joint endeavor by SoftBank, OpenAI—the creator of ChatGPT—and Oracle. Announced in January by U.S. president Donald Trump, the initiative is backed by a planned investment of up to $500 billion to advance the country’s AI and cloud infrastructure.
Liu added that SoftBank and Foxconn began laying groundwork for the venture more than six months ago. He noted that for this project, the initial requirements are power supply, a suitable facility, and timely execution. Ohio fits well with all these criteria, a view shared by SoftBank.
