AI市場2040年に7000兆円 ソフトバンク孫氏が予測

On January 14, during SoftBank World, a corporate event held in Tokyo, Son Masayoshi unveiled sweeping predictions about the AI landscape by 2040. He projected that global GDP will roughly double from 2025 levels, reaching 3 京 7,000 trillion yen, with AI-related activities capturing approximately 20% of that total—equivalent to 7,000 trillion yen. He further stated that profit margins in AI-related business will approach 50%, yielding annual profits around 3,500 trillion yen. Son characterized the 2040 world as a shift from a human-centered to an agent-centered society. "Agents will make their own judgments, take their own actions, and communicate on their own," he said. He projected that by 2040, AI agents will number 100 trillion. Humanoid robots powered by AI will also proliferate, reaching a scale of 10 billion units. Each humanoid, capable of precise and delicate work around the clock at speeds and accuracy far exceeding humans, will perform the equivalent labor of ten people. "Humanoids will collectively accomplish work equivalent to 100 billion people, far exceeding the current global population of approximately 7 billion, shifting physical labor's primary workforce from humanity to humanoid-centered systems," Son stated. On infrastructure, Son projected that data center power consumption will reach 3 terawatts by 2040—1.8 times the world's current total electricity consumption. Annual investment in AI infrastructure is expected to reach 800 trillion yen by 2040. SoftBank has declared ambitions to achieve global leadership in four domains: AI models (via its major investment in U.S. OpenAI), robots (through business acquisitions including Swiss company ABB), semiconductors (via its subsidiary Arm), and AI infrastructure (large-scale data center development across Europe and North America).

Son's projections reflect SoftBank's strategic bet on four core AI-related sectors: AI models (through OpenAI investment), robots, semiconductors (via UK-based Arm), and AI infrastructure (data center development in Europe and North America). The 2040 forecasts—7,000 trillion yen in AI market size, 50% profit margins, and 100 trillion AI agents—anchor the company's pursuit of global leadership in each domain. The sheer scale Son describes (humanoid robots replacing human labor, AI agents making autonomous decisions) signals a view that AI will fundamentally restructure work and economic value creation within two decades. The projected 800 trillion yen annual investment in AI infrastructure and 3 terawatt data center power consumption underscore the capital intensity of the buildout required.

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