SoftBank의 5000만 달러 트럼프 선물, 대규모 AI 데이터 센터 거래에 앞서
SoftBank가 AI 데이터 센터를 위한 연방 토지 임대 계약을 확보하기 수개월 전 트럼프 도서관에 5000만 달러를 기부해, 의원들 사이에서 뇌물 수수 우려가 일고 있다.
lawmakers are questioning softbank's timing after the company admitted donating $50 million to the trump presidential library in january, just two months before announcing a public-private partnership to build a data center at a us department of energy site in ohio. the project, dubbed the world's largest ai data center, relies on softbank leasing federal land and building a 9.2gw gas-fired power plant to support operations. senators elizabeth warren and richard blumenthal have flagged the sequence of events as a potential bribery scandal, contrasting this donation with softbank's historical donations to past presidential libraries made only after presidents left office. this development highlights the increasing intersection of ai infrastructure needs and political influence, as companies require massive federal cooperation for power and land resources.