Foxconn announced on Monday that it will partner with Japan’s SoftBank to produce data center equipment at its former electric vehicle plant in Ohio, a move tied to the Stargate project aimed at boosting U.S. artificial intelligence infrastructure.
According to Reuters, SoftBank has taken over ownership of the Lordstown facility. Foxconn Chairman Young Liu told reporters that the company will still run operations there through a new joint venture with SoftBank.
Young noted that SoftBank and Foxconn began laying the groundwork for the project over six months ago. “We understand that for this project, the first priorities are power, venue, and timing — it cannot be delayed for too long. Taking all these factors into account, we believe Ohio is a very suitable location, and SoftBank shares this view,” Young said.
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Earlier this month, Foxconn revealed it had agreed to sell the plant and its equipment for $375 million, though it did not disclose who the buyer was at the time.
The Stargate Project is being pitched as one of the most ambitious efforts yet to cement the U.S. as a leader in artificial intelligence infrastructure. Announced on Jan. 21, with President Trump calling it a vital step toward national AI leadership, the initiative brings together OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle, and MGX. The scale is massive as $500 billion planned over four years, with $100 billion already committed in the first phase. Under the arrangement, SoftBank is handling the financing, OpenAI is directing operations, and major technology players like Microsoft, Nvidia, Arm, and Oracle are key partners.
Construction of the first site, Stargate I, has already kicked off in Abilene, Texas, where Oracle is installing Nvidia GB200 systems to power AI training and inference at scale. And this is just the beginning—OpenAI is scouting additional sites across 16 states, from Ohio and Arizona to New York and Pennsylvania. Each campus is expected to deliver at least one gigawatt of computing power, while also promising to create jobs and drive major economic growth in the regions where they are built.
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Foxconn, officially called Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., is a Taiwanese company and the world’s biggest electronics manufacturer for other brands. Although it is most famous for assembling Apple’s iPhones, it also produces goods for Microsoft and Sony. While consumer electronics still account for the majority of Foxconn’s revenue, the company has begun to expand into other industries, such as semiconductors, data centers, and electric vehicles. The corporation is a vital component of global supply networks, operating large plants in nations like China, India, and the United States. It has also been under pressure to stay up with the rapidly evolving IT sector and has come under fire for the working conditions of its employees.