Masayoshi Son is placing another audacious bet. The Japanese technology conglomerate is preparing to launch a new company called Roze onto the US stock market, targeting a valuation of up to $100 billion. The venture’s mission is as unconventional as it is ambitious: deploying robots to build the data centers that power the artificial intelligence revolution.
The logic is rooted in a tangible bottleneck. Demand for AI computing capacity is outstripping the pace of infrastructure construction. By automating welding, assembly, and heavy lifting, Roze aims to run construction sites around the clock, bypassing human shift constraints. The concept strikes a chord with both technology giants and semiconductor manufacturers desperate for faster build times.
Roze would consolidate several existing SoftBank assets. The robotics division of ABB, acquired last year, forms a core component. Chip designer Ampere Computing could also be folded into the new entity. SoftBank is eyeing an initial public offering later this year, with a planned analyst day at a data center site in Texas as a kickoff. However, internal skepticism is simmering. Some managers question whether the timeline and valuation are realistic, pointing to geopolitical headwinds and a choppy market. Reports suggest 2027 may be a more likely launch date. SoftBank shares have already shown volatility in Tokyo trading as investors digest the news.
The Cost of Ambition
The Roze project is just one piece of a far larger financial puzzle. SoftBank’s aggressive AI expansion is consuming enormous amounts of capital, and the company is increasingly turning to the debt markets to fund it. The gap between the paper profits from its AI bets and its growing financing needs is widening dramatically.
On the positive side, the upcoming annual results are expected to be strong. The group has already booked roughly $20 billion in unrealized gains from its stake in OpenAI. Meanwhile, chip subsidiary Arm continues to deliver robust operational performance, recently reporting a record quarterly revenue of $1.2 billion, a 26% year-on-year increase. Analysts believe SoftBank is on track for its second-best annual profit ever.
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But the cost of that growth is steep. The company recently issued a $3.6 billion high-yield bond, paying the highest interest rate ever on its dollar-denominated debt. A related data center developer raised nearly $1 billion in the bond market in late April, offering investors a yield of around 9%. To bridge immediate liquidity needs, SoftBank secured a $40 billion bridge loan from a consortium of banks, though that facility expires in just twelve months. This sits uncomfortably alongside a commitment to invest an additional $30 billion in OpenAI.
Governance and Guardrails
The board is also preparing for change. At the annual general meeting scheduled for June 24, 2026, management has proposed appointing two external members to the nine-person board. The move is intended to strengthen corporate governance as the company deepens its high-stakes AI wager.
SoftBank’s primary safety net remains its controlling stake in Arm, valued at around $150 billion. However, with only a fraction of those shares in free float, the holding is of limited use as traditional collateral. Management insists it is maintaining financial discipline: the loan-to-value ratio stood at 20.6% recently, with a firm commitment not to exceed the 25% threshold.
The race for AI infrastructure is accelerating at breakneck speed. Whether Roze emerges as a successful standalone public company will depend less on the vision itself—and more on whether Son can simultaneously convince internal doubters and external markets that his latest gamble is built on solid ground.
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