Google, Microsoft could be among bidders to lease SoftBank's US data center

SoftBank is building a 10‑gigawatt data center project in Ohio (reported as a $500 billion investment) and is soliciting long‑term lessees and investors, with Google (primary) and Microsoft among potential bidders. A selection of clients could be made as early as this month. For cloud operators, winning leases would secure large-scale compute capacity and dedicated power while sharing construction and operational costs with SoftBank. The project could boost demand for infrastructure, semiconductors and cloud services but faces profitability risks from rising electricity and water costs and dependence on sustained AI demand. Market implications include potential strategic investments by major cloud players and opportunities for related hardware and services suppliers, alongside community and regulatory scrutiny over resource use.