Apple product maker Foxconn and Japan-based conglomerate Softbank will establish a joint data center equipment manufacturing facility in Lordstown, Ohio, Foxconn Chairman Young Liu announced Monday, according to a transcript obtained by local station WFMJ.

“For the data center equipment part, we and SoftBank will each hold 50%,” Liu said. “As for the equipment itself and the site, those will be 100% owned by SoftBank.” Foxconn announced earlier this month that it had sold the facility to an undisclosed buyer for $375 million and aims to further develop its artificial intelligence business in the United States, according to va

Last week, Bloomberg reported that Softbank bought the Lordstown facility as it looks to accelerate its plans to jumpstart its $500 billion Stargate Project. The four-year project, announced in January, aims to build new AI infrastructure for OpenAI in the U.S., according to the Jan. 21 press release. Software developer Oracle and tech company MGX are also involved in the project as investors.

SoftBank will take on the financial responsibility, while OpenAI will oversee operations. Additionally, Oracle, Nvidia, and OpenAI will collaborate to build and operate the Stargate computing system, according to OpenAI’s press release. The buildout is currently underway and started in Texas, with plans to establish more campuses in the U.S. as the companies finalized agreements.

The project’s progress has been “going slower than usual,” Softbank SVP and CFO Yoshimitsu Goto said during an Aug. 7 earnings call. One reason, at the time of the call, is the selection of a site to house the project.

“There are a lot of stakeholders,” Goto said. “To build consensus, we need to have a lot of discussions and also technical issues and construction issues. There are a lot of things that we need to look at.”

However, the joint facility plans with Softbank have been moving “for some time,” more than “half a year ago,” Liu said on Monday.

“We know that this cooperation project, first of all, requires electricity and land,” Liu added. “Timing is also very important — if we wait too long, it won’t work. Considering all these factors together, we feel that Ohio is a very suitable location. SoftBank feels the same way.”

The joint project aligns with Foxconn’s shift to AI as demand continues to grow in the U.S., rotating CEO Kathy Yang said during an Aug. 14 earnings call.

“We will utilize our Ohio campus to expand into the manufacturing of cloud and networking products,” Yang said regarding the Lordstown facility. “This investment will further strengthen Hon Hai Precision Industry’s position in the global AI industry and demonstrate our strong partnerships and comprehensive global presence.”

The “overwhelming” customer demand for AI servers had led the company to invest in expanding production at its server manufacturing facilities in Texas and Wisconsin over the next year or two, Yang added. Foxconn also aims to expand production capacity for liquid cooling and testing.

Additionally, the company plans to increase production capacity for its cloud and networking-related products at its facilities in California and Ohio, Yang said.

“The U.S. is a vital part of our footprint, enabling us to better serve the rapidly growing demand from our customers for AI and data solutions across the world,” Foxconn Chief Product Officer Jerry Hsiao said in his keynote address at Taiwan Expo USA in Dallas last week. “Foxconn invests heavily in [research and development] to innovate in areas like cooling technologies, energy efficiency, and modular server design, helping to advance the capabilities of AI infrastructure.”

Earlier this year, Foxconn launched its own AI large language model, designed to support various manufacturing-related functions, including data analysis and decision support. Then in May, the Apple product maker expanded its partnership with Nvidia to build an AI Blackwell Supercomputer factory through Foxconn’s subsidiary, Big Innovation Co.

Foxconn previously acquired the Ohio facility from electric vehicle maker Lordstown Motors in May 2022. The electronics manufacturer initially planned to produce EV battery packs in Lordstown and Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin.

The plans changed as Lordstown Motors filed for bankruptcy and sued the electronics manufacturer in June 2023. Also in the same year, Foxconn began selling some of its Mount Pleasant land, with Microsoft as one of the buyers.

Elsewhere in the U.S., Foxconn has more than 40 operational sites across 12 states and employs more than 6,500 people, according to an Aug. 14 press release.

By: DocMemory
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